Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will call Deputy Fitzmaurice presently but first several points strike me. The first is that the more I hear about a hard Brexit, the more difficult it will become and the more traumatised our economy may well become. I welcome the progress the Minister and his Department have made in discussions thus far.

Another point that strikes me is that even if we had sufficient capacity in Rosslare, most of the time-sensitive goods that would otherwise have gone through the landbridge are going to perish unless we reach a significant concession with the United Kingdom. That is of major importance. That would be in the interests of the UK as well because no one wants perishable goods to be held up on entry to Europe or in coming across. The whole thing is fraught with complexities. People talk about going off a cliff, and that is exactly what it is.

I am keen to make some other points. The committee has agreed to visit Rosslare, Dublin Airport and Dublin Port. We will have a Border visit in the coming weeks. We are concerned about all of this.

I have a question on the sports side. I understand the future of Down Royal Racecourse may be in jeopardy. There are concerns about Irish horses, which are the mainstay of that course as regards the free movement of horses up and down. That is only a small indicator but it is significant for the people concerned.

Deputy Fitzmaurice is next. The air issue was raised by Deputy Troy. He referred to COM (2018) 893, which we got today, and how it has serious implications for the aviation industry. Have arrangements already been made between carriers in the United Kingdom and Ireland, for example, between British Airways, Aer Lingus and Ryanair?