Ms Maria Walsh:

One of the joys of going last is that all the more difficult questions go to the earlier speakers and then I can row in from behind. Senator O'Reilly suggested that he was picking up a sense of pessimism from us. I think it is a question of reality. We have reached a point of frustration and are probably beyond it. When we speak as Irish representatives at various committees and engage with people in Germany and France, the efforts to figure out why it is so difficult for our neighbours to move on with things are becoming more heightened. Actions elsewhere are impacting how other things are flowing and moving. As a centrist politician who is probably a little bit more progressive in some things than others, I think it is incredibly important that we continue to work together, that we are constantly communicating and consistently opening up the lines of communication and that we finish in optimism. Like many things, politics can change in a day and we do not know whether the UK may return to the EU fold some day. It is giving other EU states food for thought. I hope the conference on the future of Europe will highlight the impact the EU has had on Ireland and also, from a solidarity perspective, what the EU as a whole has done for other member states. As Mr. Markey said, we must continue to engage and drive forward.

I am looking at a note my team just passed. A question was asked about the future growth loan scheme coming out of the Brexit adjustment fund and the agricultural sector. That scheme provides a long-term lending option to SMEs in the agriculture sector, with terms of seven to ten years to support strategic investment for sustainability and growth.

No doubt many Senators are already aware of that but I highlight it for anybody watching from home or online. In addition, Enterprise Ireland has been phenomenal and continues to do great work in providing a range of financial supports in respect of Brexit, including upskilling, reskilling and continuing engagement on Brexit. Everything can be found its the website. Equally, our local enterprise offices have access to a number of financial supports for those looking into continuing to live, exist and operate through Brexit, such as training in online vouchers and microfinancing loans. They also support other supports available through InterTradeIreland and so on and so forth.

On Senator O'Reilly's point about whether the protocol could set us back, I do not want to cross over my other colleagues' input but I will add to it by saying that, as a country, now is a crunch time. We need to see the UK step up to the plate in wanting to see balance and fairness for all citizens throughout the island of Ireland in particular.

I thank Senator Malcolm Byrne for highlighting Horizon and ERASMUS+ funding because they are incredible instruments for us as an island, considering we are now the leaders in being a predominantly English-speaking country. We need to use that in our favour. From speaking with people in some third level universities, particularly those on education and training programmes, we see many cross-EU funding applications. I am happy to provide more information on those. We link in quite closely with, and I send many organisations to, Teresa Lennon, who is head of the Irish Regions European Office.

The Committee of the Regions plays an instrumental role for us in keeping an eye on what we could be buying into or adding to. The fact is that we have not just investments coming in from overseas, especially the US, but also both a trained labour force and a youth sector that is really engaged in third level education. In particular, I see huge success in vocational and educational training in how we are further lifting our idea regarding studying. Going to a certain university and having that third level or on-site experience can certainly be of benefit. I see a cross-EU application area for that linked into Horizon funding and ERASMUS+. I ask the committee to come back to me if members want specifics. Billy Kelleher was at the meeting the day I attended with Teresa so no doubt the committee will talk to him.

Mr. Andrews picked up on the data adequacy decision so I will park that.

On flour and steel and other commodities, again, I sit on the employment and culture committees as well as the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, so forgive me if I miss some important information. I spoke with businesspeople, particularly in the west of the country, around the time Brexit was really gaining a foothold in the Parliament. I asked them about trade, what opportunities they were seeing and whether they were seeing any impact. One supplier, who worked for a large supermarket food chain, said he struggled to find the likes of yoghurts and dairy goods coming from the Republic of Ireland. He just could not get them in time. That person is connected to a business in Northern Ireland and now has a growing trade. That is probably a very easy and simplistic example to give, but there is a huge opportunity for us if we can get Northern Ireland on board in creating really good language and trade co-operation within the island of Ireland. Again, further opportunities for us to grow our businesses are certainly welcome. I will park it there and pass it back to the Chair. I see a number of hands up so I look forward to more questions.