Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 8 June 2021

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union

Brexit Issues: Discussion

Photo of Tim LombardTim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will be very brief because I realise the meeting has been going on for a long time. I am probably the final speaker and most of the questions have been asked. I would like to return to the issue of agriculture and the produce that frequently crosses the Border. Produce coming from the North to the South basically comprises raw milk and other materials. There is also produce going in the opposite direction. I refer to the export of in-calf Friesian heifers. This is a significant trade for the dairy industry in the South. This is being grossly affected by Brexit. Issues pertaining to that need to be considered. I refer in particular to the certification of live animals and how this will work. This will be a major issue for us, particularly at the back end of the year. Regarding Irish whiskey and Lakelands Dairies, coming up with a solution presents a significant issue. I am open to correction but 40% of the milk from Lakelands Dairies comes from the North. It is a significant volume. We are aware the milk price is quite buoyant at the moment. Any disruption to that market could see major change very quickly. We need to start considering the key issues.

Some speakers have mentioned how the fishing industry has been grossly affected by Brexit. In southern parts, the fishing industry is probably the one most affected. The proposed cuts, if made, will see places such as Castletownbere, Baltimore and Union Hall devastated. These are really rural parts that very much depend on the industry. It is not just a matter of the activity of fishing because it is about the knock-on effect. If the proposed cuts are made, it will be devastating in the parts of the world in question. Putting a fund in place to protect the affected communities is one thing but the point is that any loss to the quota will significantly affect their survival. With the deepest of respect, putting broadband and everything else into these remote areas just will not do. This is too big an issue for them. Fishing is the primary industry. The fabric of society will collapse if something is done to protect them.

I have been asking and talking about Brexit having thrown politics and economics up in the air for the past three or four years. Covid has added to this. The tourism industry in Ireland has been devastated. While we had good news in the past few days with the opening up of outside dining, what is the potential for an all-Ireland tourism strategy considering the chaos we are currently seeing? Tourism is going to be one of our really significant drivers. Unfortunately, the market we are talking about is that of 2023. Unfortunately, the prospects for 2022 are nearly gone because it is going to be very hard for international travel to open up. We are not going to have the trade shows. We are not going to have the liners and aeroplanes to bring to Ireland the millions who have traditionally come here. Where will the all-Ireland tourism strategy come from? Where will we find the political drive to deliver it on the ground? While I believe there is genuinely a will to achieve this, will anything happen given the chaos we are seeing? The knock-on effect will be huge for Border counties and the Republic as a whole. It will be devastating for the North unless a coherent plan can be put in place.

I referred to 2023 because that is the space we are in at the moment.

That is the what we are planning for in west Cork. We may have ten liners visiting Cobh next year but we will have on average 100 liners visiting in future. That is the logic of it. It will take another 18 months for the business to build. Where is the political drive, including in Europe, to put this policy together? How can we ensure this happens by 2023?

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