Mr. Cillian Molloy:

I thank the Senator for his question. I have been in constant contact with businesses trading across the Border which are based in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and, indeed, Great Britain. These have included companies which are our members, partner business organisations we have spoken to or other chambers of commerce in the region. What struck me most is they are all fully committed to the protocol, as was said, and committed to making it work. What they want most is to depoliticise it. They are looking for practical solutions.

I reiterate what Mr. McGrane said in his opening remarks. We do not do politics and neither does business - we do solutions. That is all the organisations concerned want at the moment. I have been struck by the resilience with which Northern Irish businesses, across sectors and regions, have been able to face the dual challenges of Covid-19 and Brexit and its accompanying protocol. What they want now is the necessary support from politicians to help them continue to fight these challenges in future. I state that because they are not going away and they are real challenges which have added costs and increased time in respect of fulfilling deliveries and in exporting and importing etc. Those are real challenges, but businesses are learning to adapt to them. The largest businesses adapted the fastest, as we expected.

A concern now, which was pointed out to me by someone in Northern Ireland last week, is that the onset of Covid-19 meant some SMEs have been largely dormant and cocooning for the past six months. Therefore, they have not yet had to face the full challenge of the protocol or engage with it fully. To use a phrase which now has a different meaning, there is a second-wave risk we may be facing these challenges again in a few months, and we should be aware of that danger. While we are slowly working our way forward from the initial shock, there could be another one down the line. That goes for businesses in the Republic of Ireland as well as those in the North. We must bear in mind there will be a need, as was mentioned, for further supports to address this issue. We cannot ignore this aspect.

Fundamentally, however, there has been a very optimistic tone. Businesses fully recognise the opportunities that exist from being able to trade with the EU and UK markets. However, they will say it is harder to sell those opportunities when there is so much chaos and confusion concerning the present situation. The key to getting through this is, first, depoliticising the situation and then looking for practicable solutions. That is the work we in the chamber, and everyone else who wants to get on board with this message, have been championing. That is my initial reaction.