Lord Oates:

Lord Wood has reflected my views on fisheries and the prospect of a free trade agreement so I will not repeat that.

On the issue of a post-Brexit relationship, one of the great things about the European Union, and we all know the economic benefits, was the fact that Ministers came together on a regular basis from countries across the EU. Obviously as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, said in evidence to the committee before, in the post-Brexit environment British and Irish Ministers will not meet in that way so we need to make a special effort. I noted that he talked about having an intergovernmental conference between the two Governments at least once annually and perhaps twice. That suggestion might be something to pursue and I would certainly be very much in favour of that.