Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. Barrett and Dr. Lawless, Dr. Barrett in particular for the balanced response on the Northern Ireland protocol. It is important to acknowledge, as we have done at previous committee hearings, that there are multiple sides to that issue and the politics of Northern Ireland. As was said, it is not all driven by trade or economic growth. There are other issues of equal importance to people. We must respect that.

I put a number of questions to the witnesses, so I thank them for their comprehensive replies. It has been a worthwhile engagement. All members that have offered have come in, so that brings us to the end of our meeting. I extend my thanks once again to Dr. Alan Barrett, director of the Economic and Social Research Institute, and Dr. Martina Lawless, research professor, ESRI. As always, it has been an interesting and informative engagement.

It is a moveable object. We will be discussing Brexit for the next decade and perhaps longer. I have no doubt we will get a chance to look at the long-term impacts of this in ten years' time, and we can refer to these conversations then. I thank committee members for their engagement this afternoon and those who are tuning in. The committee will meet again at 3 p.m. on Monday, 1 March when we look forward to delving further into other aspects of the Brexit process.