Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am intrigued by the figures for the volume of exports to mainland Europe that transit the United Kingdom because they hide what is effectively a cluster bomb. I understand Mr. Barnier has indicated that 65% of Irish exports to mainland Europe transit the United Kingdom. Does this present opportunities in terms of a mechanism down the road? Goods are currently trucked through the United Kingdom free of tariffs and VAT. If businesses in the United Kingdom were to relocate here, would they be able to transport goods tariff free through the United Kingdom to mainland Europe rather than continuing to pay tariffs if they were to remain in the United Kingdom? Does this present an opportunity for Ireland? If that is the case, how would this mechanism work in practice? Having spoken to many individuals working for multinational companies, this is the number one issue for many of them. It is currently economic for companies to transport goods through the United Kingdom. If this is no longer an option, they may relocate to the United Kingdom or mainland Europe, which would present major difficulties for us. I have no doubt that this issue has appeared on the delegates' radar. I ask them to comment.