Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Clearly the agri-sector is concerned about the fallout from Brexit, but another dimension that is often ignored is that many of our major food companies are all-Ireland companies. For example, Lakeland Dairies used to be a Cavan-Monaghan enterprise, but it now has major processing plants north of the Border. Similarly, LacPatrick – formerly the Town of Monaghan Co-op – has major processing plants north of the Border. The raw material – milk in this case, but sheepmeat and beef in other cases – travels north and south for processing. There will be significant challenges if different regulatory regimes apply to food standards. These are just some issues.

I have the privilege of representing two of the southern Ulster counties. Our lives in those Border communities have been transformed since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. Thankfully, the Border has been gone in reality since 1998 and there has been a normalisation and total demilitarisation of our region. In recent years, but particularly prior to Brexit, all of us argued that we did not see the full potential of the Good Friday Agreement being maximised and that more all-island bodies could have been created to do that. However, when we undertake an inventory of the Agreement, its success has been significant. We have taken that for granted.

Be it a soft or hard Border, any impediment to the movement of people, goods or services is a major backwards step, and a worrying one for Border communities. Where I live, people travel north on a daily basis to work in or access the help service, education, etc. Unfortunately, I do not underestimate the potential for difficulties when the Border arrives.

It is welcome and significant that Mr. Michel Barnier is addressing both Houses of the Oireachtas today. He has an understanding of our country. The European Parliament’s chief negotiator, Mr. Guy Verhofstadt, MEP, recently stated that the Good Friday Agreement had to be protected. That is important. Many positives have flowed from the Agreement, so it has to be uppermost in all negotiations at every level, a matter on which both of the witnesses’ contributions dealt with strongly.

I will conclude on a further point before calling on colleagues. The economy of the Border region, North and South, suffered much over the years because of the Troubles. We have only started to try to catch up. There has been good indigenous enterprise, which we have depended on down the years. Thankfully, some companies that started out small in my constituency and north of the Border have become international corporations.

The Border economy is more heavily dependent on agriculture, construction and engineering than any other region in the country. Those are the sectors that will be most impacted by Brexit, given that they depend on the British and Northern Ireland markets so much for their exports. So many double whammies will hit the local economy and communities that such considerations must be uppermost in our minds at all times.

Another issue that has not been taken into account enough is the fact that a great deal of our exports to markets beyond Britain and the EU use Britain as a landbridge. These obstacles will hit the Border region, North and South, more negatively than they will other regions.

The presentations are exceptionally good and touch on all of those issues. Although I took the liberty of making a statement, I ask my colleagues to stick to asking questions. I call Deputy Darragh O'Brien.