Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. Lawless and Dr. Barrett for their presentation. I want to take up some of the points Dr. Lawless made and to flesh them out. I refer to import substitution and where the ESRI sees that there are opportunities in Ireland. I am thinking about flour, for example, more so than steel, which is being impacted by tariffs. Dr. Lawless might outline where she sees opportunities there.

What infrastructural investments need to be made at national level in order to deal with Brexit? Mention was made of companies not exporting to the UK. What supports should the Government consider putting in place to encourage exports to the Continent, particularly now that we have many more direct ferry sailings?

A concern of mine relates to something that will impact on the services side in particular, that being, a divergence in Ireland and the UK's data protection regimes.

From a policy perspective, the final point that Dr. Lawless made was important. Now that the UK is no longer at the Council of Ministers and batting on the same side as us, what issues should Ireland be alert to and with whom should we look to ally?