Mr. John McGrane:

In one word, "Yes". Things are improving, which is what happens in business life because businesses adapt. With regard to things being quiet, it is the same as not being noisy. Businesses work away with people like us and others to make sure people know these things are happening. They will comply and are complying in an environment that is not getting worse. We will, however, see a spike for the worse in October and again in January when, as we said, a new round of changes will come into force. The learnings of the first phase will be very valuable, as will creating forums that rapidly bring all the parties together, stay very close to developments and invest in some of the supports that can make these things easier to do, for example, a greater amount of online work and listening to businesses' proposals in that regard.

The Chairman made a point about the decline in imports and exports. A key point is that there has been no drop-off in consumer demand. The people who bought Irish goods and the people in Ireland who bought British goods still like those products and services. They have not, to any great degree, scoured the planet to find new, cheaper or faster suppliers. They like what they are buying, the competitiveness of these goods and the fast delivery times. They just bemoan the fact that trade is more disrupted and hope some of the disruptions can be worked on in the ways we are talking about. We have everything to hold on to here. British consumers have not turned away from Irish produce, far from it. Consumers - north, south, east and west - still love what we make and sell. We just have to work very hard to make sure we do not discommode them so much that they change their minds.

On being heard, there is a key point to be made. As the season evolved, businesses in Northern Ireland told us that what they would really value is if the EU heard their plea more directly. We are glad to be able to say that we made it our business to ensure people were aware of that human need to be heard or, in this case, the business need to be heard by the EU directly, and that this has paid dividends. It proves the point that ní neart go cur le chéile. Get the people around the table talking about what is going on, listen and respond. All businesses will be reasonable and recognise that things cannot change overnight. The key point is that we appreciate being heard. We have our own responsibilities and obligations to deliver that voice channel.

With regard to the protocol, the answer is "Compared to what?" We know very few businesses, if any, that object to the protocol. They want time to implement it and genuine work on all sides to make it easy to implement. The alternative to the protocol deserves to be aired politically by people who are with people who say we just should not have it. We know what the alternatives are. They are all worse than having the protocol in terms of where a border might lie and the very significant other consequences of those choices and in the propensity of the various agencies, including in Great Britain, to be comfortable with formulas other than the protocol, which they brought in. That is not a political point; it is a practical point. When people raise an objection to something, as they have the right to do, they have a responsibility to present an alternative, so that people and businesses can consider the alternative and give feedback to their public representatives accordingly.