Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have a couple of broad observations and questions. We are here to try to come up with a report that pinpoints the solutions to potential problems or perceivable problems. We cannot even pinpoint the problems, never mind the solutions. We need to tease out every last detail. While we have a unique status because of our geography and our historical links with the UK, at the end of the day when the negotiations really kick in, we are one of 27. As a bargaining chip, how high up will energy be? It was mentioned briefly, but I would like to hear a little bit more about the relationship between the UK and continental Europe. How dependent are they on each other? From the viewpoint of the other 26 negotiators around the table, how high up will the question of energy be?

It was mentioned earlier that in one of the worst-case scenarios, a tariff of 0.7% could be put on gas. As we found out, Brexit hit once the votes were counted and there was an immediate sterling fluctuation for people who were exporting. They took major losses. Have there been gains? Has there been a little silver lining on the cloud with regard to the fact that we are probably net importers from the UK and the sterling has been weak and is weakening? Going forward, when negotiations are complete, if the sterling was to level out at a weaker stage, could there be a silver lining from an energy costings point of view for us on this island?

In a real worst-case scenario, we may end up with the aforementioned hard Border, checkpoints, etc. It has been mooted that because of our history, checkpoints on the Irish Border will not be there too long as they will be removed by people who may not have the authority to remove them. Have the witnesses looked into that worst-case scenario with a view to the security of their infrastructure, such as cross-Border interconnectors, etc.? That is the worst-case scenario, but we have to ask these questions and look at every inevitable or possible outcome.