Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Ahern for coming before the committee. His experience of dealing with the EU on various issues made him realise much sooner than some of our Westminster colleagues the consequences for them of leaving. The effects of Brexit will get worse as time goes by.

Mr. Ahern's idea of a national plan on a micro and macro level is one at which all Departments should look. That is something that is lacking. We have had many statements about the effects and what we would like to see on a macro level, but we have not had a detailed analysis down to the nuts and bolts of roaming charges. There will be a cost to business in future if something is not about that. These should all be policy positions and they should be lined out by each Department as the issues we need to address in Brexit. We do not have that. We have been told by many EU representatives that they want solutions from us and that if we do not provide them, they will have to come up with their own. We have a very limited window in which to set out those solutions.

Mr. Ahern referred to the funding programmes for Northern Ireland and we have suggested in our report on Brexit and the future of Ireland to the Good Friday Agreement committee that in the absence of an agreement, the British Government should continue to pay for all the EU programmes which are in place as well as for those which are to come in future. In essence, they broke it so they have to fix it. It should not be for the people of Northern Ireland who voted to remain in the EU to bear the brunt of a decision made by Wales and England.

The Taoiseach has said since the MacGill summer school last year that the EU needs to prepare for a united Ireland. What should we be doing as a country to prepare for that along with those preparations for Brexit which Mr. Ahern outlined in his presentation?