Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank everyone for attending. I also thank everyone for the great work done to compile the report and thus have this conversation. A lot of good questions have already been put to the delegation so I shall pick out the pieces of hugely positive information and list my main takeaways from our meeting and the report.

Like Deputy Conway-Walsh, I wish to state that I really look forward to the joint report by the ESRI and IBEC on the macroeconomic model. As has been mentioned, there is a major gap in policy-making and our guests hope to model a policy that will specifically address macroeconomic issues that may be experienced North and South. I am interested in that piece of work. Please give further information, if any, on the gap in policy that the delegation is concerned about in terms of 25 years after the Good Friday Agreement.

The points made about confidence and certainty are hugely relevant. Getting elected after Covid, I know that it was something that businesses contacted each and every Member about. I refer to the lack of certainty and confidence and how that had an impact on their forecasting and productivity at that point in time. I ask the delegation to highlight the positivity that can come from confidence and certainty, and what that really does for the business sector in general.

It has been mentioned that the distance from market is not so much of an issue any longer and that investors do not specifically target population centres. That is hugely positive as I am a Deputy for County Clare. Obviously, we have been trying to find ways of bringing about and highlighting the importance of regional balance for the whole island, and specifically in terms of the west of Ireland. I shall discuss this point because this aspect creates an opportunity for all businesses. We saw a time when a lot of work was being done remotely, both willingly and not so willingly as it was very difficult at times for some people. The pandemic created the space for remote working to be examined further, including how we can implement remote working and increase such opportunities for workers and employees. I do think that such an initiative would bring about even more progress in terms of cross-Border workers. During Covid cross-Border workers experienced a lot of difficulties. It was hugely important that the necessity to adopt a co-ordinated approach to tax and social welfare was discussed today.

Someone made a point about funding North-South projects such as PEACE+. For me, that is one of the major takeaways that I will take as a Clare constituent and being able to look at that work. The delegation was very specific around the new, when reference was made to the fact that these North-South projects need to be funded.

I was going to ask about barriers but the issue has been mentioned so I shall refer to the one piece of data that jumped out from all of this positive picture that has been painted. I refer to the 40% productivity gap between Ireland and Northern Ireland. I view that percentage as a disparity. Some areas like biopharma and tech sectors have had huge increases but the impact of market forces on Northern Ireland firms have created the gap. I ask the delegation to further comment on that point.

Finally, it felt really good to meet the delegation in person. I welcome Ms Gallagher talking about further engagements outside of this committee. I look forward to continuing to engage with the delegation on the report, its data, and specifically on the real-life stories and case studies. Is there any way that we could share such instances on social media or raise them in our constituencies? I ask because real-life experiences and the accompanying colourful language paints a picture for people.