Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. Mansergh. I attended the launch of the IBEC report yesterday morning. It was enlightening. The report is a dynamic, non-political, economically focused report, which shows the huge importance of the economic prosperity, North and South, that is a direct result of the GFA. It shows the way forward as one island with 7 million people, 3.5 million of whom are workers. It points out that our island is second only to London in terms of growth of the economy, take-home pay, incomes and so on. IBEC make a very important economic point that, on average, the incomes of the poorest people are 65% better off than they would have been before the GFA. It really shows how valuable the work of all three of our witnesses has been, and the contribution it makes, to our current economy and peaceful island. We cannot thank them enough for that.