Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. This is one of the big issues facing us where I live in rural County Leitrim. We are next to the Border with Fermanagh and we are very conscious of the potential of Brexit to heighten the difficulties that already exist for many people living in rural communities. It can be seen from travelling around the Border region that much of it is rural. There are some middling-sized towns such as Enniskillen or Monaghan town, but mostly we are talking about vast rural areas. I take issue sometimes with statements being made that suggest that people in rural areas are disadvantaged. I would rather call them under-resourced. This is really an issue of resources and about having people living in a part of the world where they have a tremendous quality of life compared with what we call the really developed parts of the country. The major concern is about being able to ensure that the people who live in those areas have access to the required employment and services. That issue centres on resources and how to get those resources in place. The work that the witnesses have spoken of today is about drawing attention to that and seeing where and how we can put the required resources in place that will produce the maximum impact.

Nobody knows what the outcome of Brexit is going to be. We are, however, just measuring how negative that impact will be. There is nothing to talk about on the positive side at all. Everything focuses on the degrees of negativity that may be reached. One of the key things we need to be considering, and this committee may have a role to play in this, is to explore mechanisms of working with community organisations across the region to leverage funding to get those resources in place where they are most needed. While Brexit is about Britain, the North, which voted to remain, is being forced to leave as well, and I think the European Union has a responsibility in that regard. We need to work with every agency we possibly can to put as much pressure as possible on the European Union to meet its responsibility to put the resources in place to assist with what is going to be a transitional period. That support will be necessary until we get to a stage where some common sense comes back into play.

We all know that whether Britain leaves with a deal now or in six months, there will have to be an arrangement at some stage. It is ridiculous for anyone to imagine that a country the size of Britain would leave the EU and then never have a trade deal with its neighbours.

That arrangement is going to happen. If it does not happen in the next six months or a year, it will happen in the next few years. Between now and then, we need to have the funding mechanisms in place to protect communities in the Border region in particular.

There are also the issues in regard to rural Ireland more widely and how we can assist in making rural Ireland a place where more people want to live or are able to live. One of the projects we have been looking at seeks to enable people to work remotely for big companies while living in rural areas. We want to enable the infrastructure that is required for that, in particular the infrastructure around communications, but also to ensure adequate health services, education systems and so on are in place so people can access them wherever they live, in any part of the country and regardless of what jurisdiction they are in.

I very much welcome the work that has been done. I have read through the new common charter for co-operation. We are talking about putting in place a structure that will be fit for purpose. One of the problems we have had is that there have been a lot of itty-bitty structures, as it were, all over the place and they have not been co-ordinated properly. If we can try to do that, and this committee will be up for that challenge and will assist in any way we can to make it happen, we can go with a number of clear asks in regard to what will make a difference and move the position forward. I again welcome the witnesses and thank them for their contributions.