Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Good morning to the Chair and the Commissioner. It is my great pleasure to congratulate the Commissioner and wish her well. This is the first public occasion I have had to express that. From my knowledge as one of her constituents, and as a colleague, I know she will bring huge energy and capacity to the role. That is clear already. I echo the Chair's congratulations to our colleague, Senator Dooley, on his European position. It is always good if we are gaining influence in our respective parties on the Continent.

Brexit is, of course, inherently divisive. It is divisive in Europe and, ironically and contrary to the intentions at the outset, it is divisive within the UK. The big anxiety I see, as has been touched on, is about our need to ensure that Ireland does not become collateral damage in a dispute between the UK and the EU around the protocol. Having said that, the protocol is crucial. The Commissioner touched on this a moment ago, but the business sector and interest groups in Northern Ireland are beginning to drift away from the politicians in their positions on the protocol. That was visible during our meeting with representatives of the dairy and whiskey industries yesterday. They are not ad idem with political leadership in the North on their view of the protocol. Will the Commissioner comment on how she sees the negotiations on the protocol? We in Ireland have a vested interest in a good trading relationship with the UK. That is clearly beyond measure and our interest is in a negotiated outcome rather than a conflict. I am interested to hear what the Commissioner anticipates will happen in that regard.

The veterinary agreement is much talked about, as are the SPS arrangements. How optimistic is the Commissioner in that regard? Those are crucial for the livestock business and for trading east-west. I am interested to hear the Commissioner's response.

I will return to the question about country of origin labelling that arose yesterday. I do not have to tell the Commissioner because of the constituency she represented when she was a member of the European Parliament how crucial that issue is. The food processing sector is a major one along the Border, in Meath, where the Commissioner lives, in Louth and in all of those places. I will not go through the list of processing units but they are all over the place. They are the only show in town, economically and socially, and are a means of keeping people in the community. In some places, they are the only job available. It would, therefore, be disappointing if we did not do something about the question of country of origin labelling in the context of exports. I would be disappointed if that happened and I invite the Commissioner to come back on that matter. I was a little disturbed to hear her say that might not be alterable and I hope it will be.

Those are my comments. It is a great pleasure to talk to the Commissioner. The country is in safe hands with her.