Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We should congratulate both enterprises and the agencies for the way in which the calamity we all feared has been avoided. It shows extraordinary resilience for a country that is the most export-exposed and the most energy-exposed country in Europe that we have been able to demonstrate the adaptability to deal with Covid-19 and Brexit. Now we face into another challenge. What do both InterTradeIreland and the Department believe have been the most effective tools that they have developed in the face of Covid-19? Following on from that, what has been learned about tools that help enterprise to adapt in these very uncertain times? I am aware that supports such as vouchers, loans and online trading vouchers were used. There have been supply-chain diversification initiatives, de-risking supplies and energy and commodity arbitrage as companies have sought to come to terms with these changes. Have the tools that are more effective than others and that might arm us for the next period been identified? Specifically, is work under way on lean energy mechanisms so that new enterprise can look at its cost base in terms of the energy dimension? For example, in food, which is a major sector, 20% of food is wasted through the supply chain beyond the farm gate and probably more within. To what extent could resilience be developed to avoid that level of wastage in our supply chains, that could help fortify us against the challenge ahead? Specifically on Brexit, leaving aside the politics of this, which I acknowledge is intense on all sides, are there any messages or experiences from what the witnesses have seen that we should convey to those who are negotiating the next phase of the protocol? What are the lessons that we have seen so far that could perhaps be useful input into what is obviously going to be a tricky period but, as Ms Coleman-Dunne said, carries significant risk for the Irish food sector as import controls come in?