Mr. Paul Bell:

There has been much conversation about the economics of the region.

I think everyone on this side of the room remembers what it was like when there was a hard Border. What happened was that poverty and deprivation were locked in on both sides of the Border. Our big issue is the uncertainty about what Europe wants to do with the special situation that we face. Colleagues from Derry spoke about health services. I fear that a lot of health professionals, people giving care to people in Northern Ireland will start to move to Southern Ireland because of its connections with Europe. That will cause a social issue and will not be good for the health services and public services of the regions in particular.

On the communication issue, many people, especially further south of the country and perhaps even in Dublin, do not understand what a hard border looks like. That needs to be discussed. When we move around Europe, we are in a borderless zone and many of us have no experience of such a border. Denying free movement of citizens, goods and so on will cause poverty. It will set us back.

I would like the Government to immediately call on the European Commission or the European Union to state what it sees as the solution to these problems because the uncertainty is causing great concern among citizens, especially those who are seeking jobs or those who are in poverty.