Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank all of the delegates for attending today and for the time they spent on putting their presentations together. I was very interested in Mr. McGrane's suggestion that we seek to bring together various organisations - a powerhouse of interested parties - to draft the Irish strategy. I compliment him on that excellent idea.

I would like to know if any of the organisations have examined the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. We are clearly not allowed any bilateral negotiations when it comes to Brexit but under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement there is nothing stopping us having bilateral discussions, which may lead to recommendations which, in turn, may find their way into the overall negotiations.

The opening of plants in the UK was mentioned by IBEC.

That would move jobs out of the Irish economy, which is something that would be of concern to me. How is it proposed to maintain job numbers if we move plant out of the country? Has the Small Firms Association carried out research in respect of the knock-on effects on organisations lower down the food chain, such as suppliers to manufacturers which in turn export to the UK? Short-term lay-offs were mentioned. Do we have numbers in this regard?

In the context of food and beverages and the alcohol industry, when we speak about putting in place supports, particularly to allow for market diversification, I assume we are referring to short-term supports to allow for diversification into global markets and not ongoing subsidies to maintain unviable organisations.

I know of an insurance company in the North of Ireland which was considering moving to the South. It has postponed this move because of the uncertainty surrounding Brexit. Is there any evidence in this regard?