Mr. Stephen Kelly:

I could answer all those questions on my colleagues' behalf but I will let them get a word in edgeways.

I thank Senator Blaney for his questions. In terms of a shift of manufacturing jobs out from Belfast into provincial Ulster, it is driven by two things. The first is the Government never turned up in mid-Ulster and created jobs and the people there decided that they needed to work and the only way they were going to work was if they created these jobs themselves. This has all happened for cultural and entrepreneurial reasons and based on a view that the government will not come and do this for us.

Some 40% of the world's supply of mobile crushing and screening equipment comes from a little triangle, as the Senator correctly says, between Cookstown, Dungannon and Omagh. That was driven by a number of local entrepreneurs starting and growing a business. Nine months after the Good Friday Agreement was signed, an American firm was attracted by the stability and the peace that had arisen in the North and invested in that business. It now has eight facilities and dozens of other businesses which do similar things have spun out from that one business. They dominate the world as a result of the expertise and experience they have gathered during that period. At its core is an ability to bring engineering solutions to the world and having the gift of the gab to be able to sell this to the world.

We often undersell our ability to sell. Colleagues of ours talk about how, if one ever asked anybody from the Northern Ireland business community how they are doing, they will always say, "Not too bad." "Not too bad" is code for "We are doing really good but we dare not say it." Like the old adage that you should never drive a better car than your boss, they will be shy about showing their success. That is evident, even in that community where there is such success in terms of world dominance in the products they make.

Undoubtedly, connections to the ports have helped. These are big pieces of equipment. On getting those to the ports, the Senator's comment on the development of the A4 road was correct. Equally, the absence of good infrastructure further west from there is the reason that area has been held back. I live in Derry city.

As someone who has travelled the road from Belfast for 19 years now, I can tell members how difficult an experience it was until the new section of the A6 opened between Dungiven and Drumahoe, as was mentioned. That one section has been transformative in terms of the attitude towards the north west, to the point where we brought our manufacturing leaders to Derry for the leadership summit in May, roughly four weeks after the road had opened. There were many manufacturing leaders and others who had not been to Derry in a long time, despite the fact they were only an hour away. They had the experience of going there and driving on that road. The city was looking beautiful, as usual. It was quite a tropical day. The weather was fantastic. The city was looking great, but their journey to the city was really smooth and straightforward. They began to see the opportunity that exists in the north west, the expertise and experience that people have up there and the availability of labour. More particularly, they recognised that it is easy to connect with the city. Finishing the job on the last section of the A6 from Drumahoe, to connect into the city's network itself, is absolutely critical. It is dependent on the outcome of a court case around potential environmental crime. Hopefully, we will get it resolved as quickly as possible.

Alongside that is the A5 road, which leaves the Border at Aughnacloy and goes up into Derry. It is a very personal road for me, because I lost my father on that road. He was one of dozens of people who were killed because of the state of the road. It is a very personal road for our family. It is not just a professional interest that I have in it. The upgrade of the road is long overdue. The Irish Government gave commitments in terms of its development, which were greatly appreciated. Those commitments were rowed back on a little bit. It would be great to see them remade. The road will be critical to the economic ambitions of people in the west and critical to the safety of people travelling there. It is important that both of those are considered. What price do you put on a life? I know the pain and hurt that was caused when my father was lost on that road, and that has happened dozens of times. It continues to happen to this day. That is the real cost. It is not the cost of the tarmac, the central reservation or whatever else; it is the cost of people's lives that needs to be borne in mind.

The Senator asked a question about the Windsor Framework. The Windsor Framework did very little for our manufacturing community, apart from maintaining our dual market access. That is the jewel in the crown that needed to be maintained. Some adjustments and easements have been made, but 1 October 2024, when the customs elements come into place, marks the start of the critical period. We may explore a bit of that later on. I am conscious of time running out of time for colleagues.

In terms of where we have moved to, a lot of the work that was done by the business community in the North was about shining a light on the consequences of choices that were being made by the UK Government in ensuring that when the UK and EU negotiated, the interests of people and the economy in Northern Ireland were protected. That has largely been done, with the exception of some points of friction that remain. The big challenge going forward is that the EU or the UK will either passively or deliberately diverge. It is at that point that we need a voice speaking on behalf of the businesses and communities in Northern Ireland in the EU. We cannot rely on the Irish Government or the EU to do that. We will not have our own representation there. We are out of the EU and will not have that representation. Having MEPs in Ireland who have an interest in the North and, potentially, a presence there in order to get closer to the people and the issues affecting them will be critical for us. We are worried about the long-term and divergence issues. We do not have proper sight of what may be coming. Equally, the EU does not have proper sight of the impact that its decisions may have in the North.