Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I must be careful in future when I yield the floor for one question and get back in a long time later.

The Minister is welcome. I thank her officials and the staff of her Department and across all of Government for the volume of work that has been put in. I made the same remarks in the Seanad. Behind the scenes for every single Minister, there has been a professional corps of civil servants who have put in a significant volume of work. On behalf of myself and my party, I want to formally recognise. That should be recognised on a regular basis. They have done a tremendous service to the country in the way they has managed this issue, from the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Trade to Business, Enterprise and Innovation and to Agriculture, Food and Fisheries.

I was not going to comment on the previous contribution but the backstop was preferable and a better option, but without some form of negotiation and compromise, I have no doubt that we would have had a hard Brexit this week. Should we not have compromised, the logical outcome is that we would have be experiencing a hard Brexit now. That was not acknowledged by the Deputy Chambers, who was trying to pick holes in a difficult situation that our country, Northern Ireland, and many citizens in the UK find themselves in.

Politicians, in reading the agreement, realise that it is by no means satisfactory or that will this be the end of it. This will be a rolling, ongoing process. We will find ourselves in difficulty year in year out, never mind the four-year vote. That was clear, however, and welcomed by all party leaders as a compromise who said it was not ideal but they could understand why it was needed to prevent a hard Brexit. We will have difficulties on the vote every four years and the citizens in Northern Ireland will be disadvantaged by it in investment terms because of the insecurity in the future. We need to work on that as a State to improve the lot of people in the Northern Ireland to try to ensure that life is better for them.

Deputy Troy asked a question about the mixture of grants and payback incentives. Many small businesses did not attend the briefings but they would have loved to have done. With one or two employees, and working seven days a week, they said to me that they cannot prepare for something that may not happen. When it kicks in, the Minister will find them knocking at her door. By the nature of their business, it is a day-to-day struggle.

The risk of a hard Brexit has decreased but it remains. She stated that she is still in day-to-day preparation. She mentioned Dublin Port, in particular, and the impact on traffic. Have the delay scenarios in Dublin Port been played out and the impact that that would have on the M50? The M50 is like a vein of the city. If that clogs up, it clogs up the business of the city.

A rainy day in Dublin is bad enough. A bad day in Dublin Port in the case of a hard Brexit could be disastrous. Have we rehearsed that scenario and the impact it would have? Have we put an extra 300 trucks on the M50 at 11 a.m. rather than at 7 a.m. as is usual?

What is the position regarding the delivery of permanent custom controls at Rosslare Europort? Is it intended to slow this matter down or speed it up? I have heard representations from the car industry on the importation of cars into Ireland and the potential impact of Brexit on this particular industry. Let us suppose that agreement is reached in Stormont and the current agreement comes into effect. Suppose then that a second-hand diesel car is imported into Northern Ireland and then sold, with the trader saying that the intention is not to sell it into the South. What will happen if the car is then sold into the South? That situation could apply to an awful lot of Ireland's imports. I am concerned about how small business people can compete if products can be brought from the UK through Northern Ireland and sold on in the South. I know the agreement calls for goods to be designated as staying in Northern Ireland, but how can the destination be controlled with an open border? My neighbour can buy a diesel car in Northern Ireland and re-register it in two months, or buy a product in Northern Ireland and bring it back here. It may have no registration, but different VAT controls and costs will apply. How will these businesses be protected?

I thank the witnesses for their time. I will not ask any further questions as we had the opportunity to do so in the Seanad.