Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman and Ms Rachel Breen for their assistance. I was having difficulty connecting at the start. I appreciate their patience and help. I thank the Chairman for calling me even though I have been missing for some of the meeting. Like Senator Ó Donnghaile, I want to make a few comments rather than ask direct questions.

I join colleagues in welcoming our guests or, rather, our colleagues from the Northern Assembly. They are very welcome. It is important to have this exchange and I hope it will be one of many. I join colleagues in saying we are delighted to engage with Mr. McGrath, Ms Anderson and Ms Sheerin to work together on the issues. Like Senator Wall, I condemn the threats to the workers. We must all be unequivocal about that. There is no ambiguity in that regard and neither should there be.

To move on, it is important we maintain the areas of co-operation and as much of the pre-Brexit normality basically as can and, in fact, more. Health co-operation is one such area. I come from a Border constituency and that is one of the reasons I appreciate the opportunity to contribute today. Coming from a Border constituency, I am very aware of what the cross-Border health initiatives have meant. These are very important. There were opportunities for people from the South to access a number of treatments in the North and vice versa.

The point Ms Sheerin made about Donegal, Derry and Altnagelvin hospital is eminently sensible. Practical health co-operation, joined-up thinking on health and joint services are matters that transcend politics, on which we can build good relations and that is a tangible thing. A number of people who have gone to Northern Ireland - to Belfast - on foot of the cross-Border schemes. I have been involved in helping some of them with the process of making their applications and completing forms, as, I am sure, other colleagues have. Quite a number of people in Cavan have made such applications. I am sure they benefited from having their treatment in Belfast and meeting people there. It all adds to a good picture of relations.

I fully agree with the points made about the health services. I also agree with the point about the Erasmus programme and the need to maintain normality in that regard.

Fundamentally, our challenge, as two committees working together and in our own individual capacities, is to try to maintain the best level of co-operation and interaction that we can and to maintain the highest level of pre-Brexit normality, if you like, and build on it. The point was well made earlier - I think it was by Ms Anderson - that blaming the protocol is wrong. The issue is not the protocol; the issue is with the difficulties that are now arising. The difficulty is actually the Brexit vote per seand the decision to go ahead with Brexit. Our Northern Ireland colleagues are in the invidious position of suffering the effects of Brexit without wanting Brexit in the first instance.

This is a wonderfully welcome exchange. As a Border representative, I want to be associated with it. We really have to build on joint services and the health service is an obvious one. Supporting Erasmus for students from Northern Ireland and keeping an information flow there is also important. It is a very worthy discussion and one has no more function than to support and echo it. I hope we can build on it. I have no doubt that the Chairman will seek to do so.