Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests, some of them for the second time today, and wish them well in their endeavours. On the voluntary and charities sector, I note the reference to access to the European institutions. They may be easier to access than the witnesses think. It might be no harm to send someone over for a week to investigate and meet MEPs and Commissioners who know the ropes and who can be helpful in directing people in the right direction. That can have a benefit in how they raise money and how responsibility is divided between the voluntary sector and the State or European sectors as the case may be. To have the backing of the European institutions is very important, just as it is important to have the backing of national institutions in voluntary sector endeavours. It is also important for keeping standards up in line with what applies here and across Europe. That is not to suggest for a moment that the standards of the charities here need to be kept up. It is just that in all our dealings with the European institutions, it is of tremendous importance to recognise that we are equals in that field. To be equal, we have to be equal in every sense and equally meet our responsibilities.

While I am not sure I am competent to advise our legal friends on what they might do, a couple of things come to mind. Over the years of my public life, I have had occasion to attend courts in the United Kingdom, including in some famous locations such as the Old Bailey. There are some legal professionals who are competent to practise both here and in the UK. To what extent can that continue after Brexit or will there be any change? Do we know at this stage? I hate to ask the following and the witnesses do not have to answer it if they do not want to. The European institutions have been critical of legal costs in this country. I have been talking about the Single Market for many years. The Single Market has two aspects. We have the benefits of the Single Market and the competition of the Single Market. That means equality. We have to be equal in every aspect of our dealings and we have to have equal access. We must have equal participation and be able to purchase our medicines equally with our colleagues throughout the European Union at a competitive price and not at a price that reflects our distance from the centre of Europe. That is not a runner at all. The Single Market is the Single Market and it extends like a cloud right across the European Union. Everyone under that cloud is entitled to equal treatment. If the witnesses want to answer that question, they can. It is just one of the things we get preoccupied with here. It is a matter that is wider than the legal profession. In fact, it covers every profession.

Some time ago, I discovered that some products manufactured in a member state and available for export tariff free throughout the European Union do not necessarily come directly to each member state. Some member states have franchises, for example, in the distribution of motor cars. Cars are imported into one member state and then exported to others. That applies to the UK insofar as Ireland is concerned with some car marques. Will that apply after Brexit? I sincerely hope not. It would be extraordinary if a former member state now outside the European Union were to have a franchise controlling the free movement of goods and services. That applies to financial services and legal services also. I apologise to the Chairman for that convoluted approach.