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

I have a few comments to make. It is difficult to follow the proceedings when one has to leave to vote in the Dáil.

As regards the capital plan, in the early days of this committee, following the Brexit referendum I raised the need to prioritise the infrastructural needs of the Border region in the review of the capital plan with the then Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Flanagan, and the Ministers for Public Expenditure and Reform and Transport, Tourism and Trade, Deputies Donohoe and Ross. This was to try to assist companies that are heavily dependent on the agrifood sector, construction products and engineering and which are based in the Cavan-Monaghan and Fermanagh-Tyrone areas to remain competitive. As they are more dependent on the Northern Ireland and British market than any other sectors, some prioritisation should be given to the infrastructural needs of that area and I hope the Minister will represent that view in discussions at Cabinet.

I represent two southern Ulster counties that are very conscious of the benefits that have flowed to us from the workings of the Good Friday Agreement. The potential resurrection of the Border is an absolute nightmare for my constituents. As I said previously at this committee, that prospect has knocked the stuffing out of individuals and Border communities. I brought members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons to Cavan-Monaghan last Thursday, where they met local interest groups, businesses, public representatives and statutory agencies. That was the first meeting at which there was a real downer among those who are providing jobs and gainful employment and that was due to the British Government's statements, mis-statements and contradictory statements last week. I do not know how one will manage to ensure that such companies will be reassured that the best possible deal will be secured. That will not be easy but we want to try to ensure that even at this early stage, the confidence is not knocked out of the sectors that are very heavily dependent on the British market.

One of the great outcomes of the Good Friday Agreement has been the development of business on an all-Ireland basis. The Minister will know from his days in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, as do I, of the development of the agrifood sector in particular on an all-Ireland basis. The Minister earlier spoke of the interdependence of the farming and agrifood sector North and South, as well as of the nightmare we will have if there are two different regulatory regimes. He mentioned the raw material that travels from North to South and vice versa. The quietest day in the farming calendar is Christmas Day. However, even on that day, more than 50 tanker loads of milk come from the North for processing at the Lakeland Dairies plant in Bailieborough. The transportation of more than 50 large containers of milk on that day demonstrates clearly the interdependence of the agrifood sector and the need to ensure that no impediments are put in the way of ensuring that the modus operandicurrently enjoyed can continue.

Can the Minister assure members that phase 1 of the talks between Britain and the European Union will not conclude unless there is a satisfactory outcome in respect of the Border? I thank him for his contribution. It is unfortunate that members must miss parts of the meeting because of other commitments.