Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that, Chairman. I will try to respect that by being as brief as I can to allow other colleagues to come in. I congratulate the Chairman, Senator Chambers, who is a friend of Congressman Neal, on taking this great initiative, and I thank her for facilitating and arranging our meeting.

I welcome Congressman Neal and appreciate him talking to us virtually, though we would much prefer to meet him in person.

On behalf of my colleagues, I express our profound gratitude to Congressman Neal and the Friends of Ireland, and specifically to Nancy Pelosi, for publicly and unequivocally saying that the US will not have a bilateral trade deal with the UK if the Good Friday Agreement is in jeopardy in any way. That was an important stance to take, which we greatly appreciate. That solidarity is hugely valuable and I thank everyone for that.

Is there potential for a post-Brexit trade deal between the US and the UK? If so, what are the implications? Pro-Brexiteers have told their constituents that great things will happen when there is a trade deal with the US and a few other countries as it will act as a great panacea.