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

Like others, I welcome the delegation. I compliment Mr. Campbell on the quality of his contribution. It covered a broad sweep of the various activities in the Border region. It was very comprehensive and welcome. I also compliment him on the publications he has produced in recent years in conjunction with Katy Hayward of Queen's University. Deputies Breathnach and McLoughlin and I, as members of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, had Dr. Hayward giving evidence to us at the assembly's committee meetings. As Chairman of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence - Mr. Doyle and Mr. Traynor would be aware of this - I brought parliamentary delegations from abroad to Cavan and Monaghan, including the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons. In the presentations that were made to Monaghan County Council and Cavan County Council, we drew widely on ICBAN's publications.

I compliment ICBAN on them. At the time, I passed on our thanks to Councillor Paddy O'Rourke, who chaired ICBAN, for the quality of the publications. Mention was made of the delivery of health services and Deputy Breathnach, as then chairman of the North Eastern Health Board, was instrumental in bringing about Cooperation and Working Together, CAWT, when an agreement was signed in Ballyconnell in July 1992. That initiative has worked well and we would like to see it expanded.

With regard to waterways, the potential of the Ulster Canal was quite rightly mentioned. I would also like to see the Erne system made navigable from Belturbet, Killykeen and Killeshandra, building on the Shannon-Erne Waterway, formerly known as the Ballinamore and Ballyconnell Canal, as Mr. O'Rourke knows so well. We both live adjacent to the area. It has been phenomenally successful. Waterways Ireland came before the committee, as did the Loughs Agency. Obviously they have limited budgets and do not have a budget for the capital investment required never mind rolling out new products or enhancing products for maintenance due to the usage of the waterways. There is huge pressure on the capital budgets. We must keep pointing out the potential of the waterways system in our area to grow considerably. I know very well that in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the restoration of the Ballinamore and Ballyconnell Canal was mooted, many cynics in many political parties and organisations said it would never work. It proved to be phenomenally successful, as will be the Ulster Canal when it is restored.

With regard to the A5 and N2, prior to Brexit, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and officials from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport came before the committee on a number of occasions. The committee was very concerned that the project was not moving along and that a commitment had not been given on the necessary preparatory planning and design work, particularly on the N2 in County Monaghan. It has moved on somewhat but it was disappointing to learn this week that the particular funding allocation may not be available. We sincerely hope it will be because it is so important for the north west of the country.

The witnesses quite rightly pointed out an issue we have been raising with regard to Brexit. Individual committee members have been raising here and in discussions in the Dáil the very high dependence of the local economies, especially in Cavan, Monaghan, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Leitrim, on the agrifood sector, construction products and engineering. They are the three sectors that are more highly dependent on the British market than elsewhere. Some of the sectors have been impacted already by Brexit. Any fluctuation in sterling or any weakness could cause immediate difficulty. Our key sectors are those that are most vulnerable to the adverse impacts of Brexit, and this must be a source of concern. Other colleagues and I have argued with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport in particular that if we are trying to help industry and business in the region remain competitive, we must invest in infrastructure. Upgrading infrastructure can reduce costs somewhat, but if we do not have modern infrastructure, it will be an extra impediment and cost to business. It is a message we would heartily endorse with regard to the presentation that has been made.

Island-wide territorial cohesion policy has been mentioned. As we all know, European funding such as the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, is for post 2020, but the overall budget for the European Union is in multi-annual cycles. Perhaps the witnesses will draw up proposals we could use to help advocate for specific Cohesion Fund payments. We remember the debate in the State about Objective 1 status. The huge growth in the economy in the 1990s and the early 2000s changed the status of some of our regions. We should be making a very strong demand for the Border region, North and South, getting specific cohesion funding because of the challenges it will face as a result of Brexit. It is a very important area. Perhaps more work can be undertaken by the witnesses on how we can push the Governments here and elsewhere to support specific proposals to draw down Cohesion funding. Some of the countries that acceded to the European Union in the mid-2000s and subsequently had significant infrastructure upgrades through Cohesion funding. We should argue that we are a special case. It is very important in this respect.

I compliment the witnesses, whom I know have done very good work on broadband infrastructure and mobile telephony in the area. All of us can readily agree with and support the witnesses on what they have told us today. I thank all of the witnesses who have contributed to the meeting.