Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There will be a director appointed, anyway, and on it goes. There is nothing on the executive or policy sides that would prevent it from being expedited. It is one of the essential components of new politics to give independence to people like the Deputies to cost matters.

I saw the Dublin Port figures. There are also figures from Dublin Airport, which say the opposite. There may have been a transfer of business from ferries to air transport in the bad weather for part of the year. I am not sure what the cause of it is. The traffic through Dublin Airport has gone up very significantly. The volume of trade going through Dublin Port had, of course, increased very strongly as well.

Is Brexit already beginning to bite? The economy was very strong in the first quarter. A lot of jobs were added on. Retail sales are up by 6% and trade in exports has been very good as well. There is no evidence yet. All the anecdotal evidence, such as that to which the Deputy referred at Dublin Port, we are aware of and watch them all the time. There is no hard evidence that it is beginning to bite. The big effect of Brexit so far is the decline in the value of sterling. It is dearer for British visitors to come here now, to book hotels, eat out and do all the things they did before.