Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry for not being here earlier but Brexit legislation is going through the House and we are going into and out of the Chamber all day as a result. I was struck by the comments of the Governor, Professor Philip Lane, who spoke recently in Dublin Castle. He said the immediate cliff-edge risks of a hard Brexit had largely been addressed because of the work of the Central Bank. Can the witnesses go into more detail on what they have done? What immediate cliff-edge risks did they identify and what steps did they take to address those?

The Governor also spoke of the redistribution of financial services away from London, which has been the centre point for such services within the European Union. He said it would bring challenges as well as opportunities. The opportunities are clear in the shape of jobs relocating to Dublin but what are the challenges for Ireland? What are the challenges of more dispersed financial services markets across the EU and its member states?

Of all the key financial risks to the economy, do the witnesses consider Brexit to be the biggest? Is the Government sufficiently prepared for a disorderly or no-deal Brexit at the end of March? If not, what do we need to do now to prepare ourselves in the course of the next 30 days?