Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome my fellow Ulsterman who are with us today. It is good to see them. We can all appreciate the detail in the report and the presentation given to us this morning. For me it is quite stark because it indicates just how much of a disaster Brexit has the potential to be for our economy, North and South. I am struggling, with the greatest respect, to see any positives for the agriculture or agrifood sectors or for anyone else. We do not want the British Government to take us over a cliff edge and, unfortunately we are dangling very dangerously close to the edge at present. We have highlighted some points on the issue of trade, and I am sure that witnesses have seen the reports on the front page of the Irish News today that potentially one in 12 vehicles will be stopped. This comes in light of the fact the Irish Government has conceded it is scoping out sites for customs checks along the Border at present. There is the issue of labour and more than 65% of workers in the food and meat producing sector are migrant workers, which I believe is a significant figure when we consider the ethos of the Brexit lobbying and campaign. Senator O'Reilly covered much of what I had intended to ask. I hope we can expand on the issue of funding support, which it is indicated will be maintained to 2020. What engagements have the witnesses had with the British Government on it meeting and matching its commitment on EU subsidies and other EU funding sources and streams? What indications have they had from the British Government? Prime Minister Theresa May launched her manifesto this morning. I do not know whether it featured, but I could be corrected.