Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach. The witnesses are very welcome. This is an opportune time to talk about the Northern Ireland economy, in the times of all-island economy, and east-west, and being part of Europe. We have discussed universities. I grew up in Boyle in Roscommon. When I left college, out of 60 perhaps three went to university. One went to Trinity and the rest went to institutes of technology. People worked on the family farm, got a job in the public sector or a job with their father in his business or they emigrated. Things have totally changed, however and I believe they changed with the arrival of Intel and Ireland's move into Europe in 1973 with the UK.

I come from Sligo and what I am seeing in the north west is very exciting. The Atlantic Technological University, which we have spoken about, with Letterkenny, Sligo and Galway-Mayo institutes of technology, among others, is the first time we have had a university north of the Dublin-Galway line. There are pharmacy courses and veterinary courses and so on. It is quite exciting.

Professor FitzGerald spoke about bringing people across the Border. I do not believe we have been very successful in that regard at Trinity College Dublin or in University College Dublin since the late 1960s. Anybody from Northern Ireland who wanted to avail of third level education went to the UK and they did not come home. There are huge challenges there. In the north west, along with Magee campus of Ulster University and the funding, there is a huge challenge.

There are also challenges regarding accessibility. The A5 is great but it takes five hours and maybe there should be flights between Derry Airport and Dublin Airport. Last weekend there were discussions on direct flights between Donegal and Dublin. Where I come from we have that great airport called Ireland West Airport Knock, from where I can travel to the United Kingdom. I will travel to the UK from Knock on Monday for €9.99. I can leave my house at 8 o'clock in the morning and be at a meeting in Westminster at 12 o'clock.

I am always asked if I have a private jet, and I reply that Ryanair will get you there on time for €9.99. I am just saying that these are the accessibilities and we need to look at these things.

I was in London on 23 May where Trade NI was held. It is an alliance of the three of the largest trade organisations, namely, Hospitality Ulster, Manufacturing Northern Ireland and Retail NI and it launched a prosperity dividend report. They are beginning to box outside that area. Tonight, it will be launched in Iveagh House at six o'clock. There is a lot more collaboration that can be done across the island of Ireland.

One issue that was mentioned was education. It is about education, but I want the representatives' views on integrated education in Northern Ireland. What are their views? I think the figure is less than 9%. Is there a role there to increase that figure? I know it can be a difficult issue. I am not saying it is a panacea for all the problems but it is an issue that we are talking about.

One aspect that I always bring up, and I like bringing it up because people get uncomfortable with it, is if we are to have an agreed Ireland. Nobody understands this but five years ago, we were given observer status of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, OIF. That went through without any huge problems and it is like the French Commonwealth. When we talk about the Commonwealth here, we talk about how it has a combined population of 2.4 billion, and has a GDP that I believe is half that of the EU. I do not say we should join the Commonwealth but there can be much more association from the point of view of trade, sport and legal, as a gesture of goodwill. Yet, it is something that we do not even mention. We talk about an agreed Ireland but I always believe that if we can, we should be observers like in the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. There is a great sign over the French Embassy in Merrion Square which states: "France, your closest EU neighbour", and they are and they held the line during Brexit. I am just saying, however, that everyone who talks about an agreed Ireland or a united Ireland is uncomfortable about this. I like making people a little uncomfortable sometimes.

The point was made that Dublin is overly congested and the housing supply was referred to. As Belfast has scale, there is a huge opportunity there. There is also the opportunity for decentralisation around Ireland but you need to have good transport links, which is why we talk about railways. We have good roads but we need rail transport as well.

It is interesting that it was said that a lot of EU nationals are not coming into Northern Ireland but are being replaced by people from across the world, mostly from Asia. Has that impacted in a different way on the ground? Also, addressing the school leaver problem will take a long number of decades. What has been said is that people need to return home but people really only return home when it is socially, economically and politically viable. Thirty years of generations have left. Again, I have seen it in the north west, where people are returning home. In some areas of the pharmaceutical industry, people are now saying that they do not even want to work for four days per week, because they want to go surfing on a Friday at Strandhill. That is what is happening. Something has happened on the west coast where I come from. That kind of energy needs to happen, not just east-west and not just from the UK. It needs to work from North-South too.

I like the idea that was raised about the living standards. There is the fact that the South is 40% more productive. There is also one very damning figure that arose from one of our meetings. If you are born in the Republic of Ireland, rather than Northern Ireland, you will live on average 1.4 years longer. That is a damning statistic. People can argue about GDP and whatever they call it, but you cannot argue with that. It is something that needs to be raised. I thank the representatives and I would like a few views on some difficult subjects.