Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am Fianna Fáil spokesperson on foreign affairs. I am delighted to engage with the witnesses. As the Chairman has said, we have an experienced House of Lords team engaging this morning and we are delighted they are doing so.

I will concentrate on the Northern Ireland protocol, as I know the witnesses are preparing a report on that. Lord Jay said in his initial remarks that this is a "technically complex and politically sensitive" matter. That is an understatement. We need to go back to basics. The protocol was to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland. It has nothing to do with the constitutional position of Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom. That gets lost in the debate. Paul Johnston, the British ambassador to Ireland, writes today in the Irish Independent about the need for a reasonable, pragmatic, proportionate approach to make the protocol sustainable. He outlines a number of things the UK Government is undertaking, including investment in ports, assisting businesses and so on. That is welcome.

The Taoiseach said earlier this week that he has proposed informally to other Heads of Government in the European Union that there should be an extension to the grace period from EU regulations governing the importation of chilled meat, the so-called sausage war. Whether that is unilateral or agreed is moot but I welcome the intervention of the Taoiseach. A grace period would be welcome. We have dealt with the veterinary agreement and the SPS situation. It is to be hoped something can be worked out there.

My main question, which Baroness O'Loan mentioned briefly, is on foreign investment in Northern Ireland and the advantages of the Northern Ireland protocol. Northern Ireland businesses can export freely to both Britain and the EU Single Market. There are huge advantages for businesses in Northern Ireland arising from the protocol. There is dual access to UK and EU markets for Northern Ireland's businesses. However, as Baroness O'Loan said, there is a need for political stability as well.

That is something that all of us have to work on and ensure. In the report, which will be finalised in July, will the witnesses refer to the opportunities that the Northern Ireland protocol presents for businesses in Northern Ireland as a positive thing, as opposed to how the DUP has presented it as a negative thing?