Mr. P.J. O'Hanlon:

First, I compliment Senator Black on the good work she does. She referred to forgotten people. I must be quite blunt and frank. We have an awful lot more in common with the counties north of the Border than we do with the counties in Munster and so on. That is the reality. Socially and culturally we have an awful lot more in common with them. For the past several years, the majority of people who have created employment in the counties along the Border and the county I live in come from Monaghan or Cavan. We now realise as counties that we are the ones who will solve our problems. Members asked if there was one thing the Government could do. The one thing we need is hope. I mean hope in respect of how we are going to develop. I am in Omagh an awful lot more often than I am in Killarney or Cork. That is not being disrespectful. Those are the places that interact with where I live.

I will go back to this point, though people say it will not have any effect. The A5 was the first project to go when there was an overspend of €1 billion on a hospital. The first message that was sent to the people, with Brexit 43 days away, was that it was off the agenda. What message does that send to the people along the Border? I ask the committee members to use whatever influence they have to change that decision. Brexit is coming down the line. I ask members to recognise that these people are going to be living and working with the challenges of that and commit to helping them as best they can. That type of understanding and that message to the people along the Border would mean an awful lot.