Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Good morning to the witnesses. I thank them for their presentation. I also commend the work of the shared island unit. It does a great deal of important work across many areas.

I welcome the investment in the A5 north-west transport corridor. A small part of that is in my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan. It is the N2 from Clontibret to the Border. That is so important because not only will it bring benefits to the area, it will also save many lives because it is such a dangerous road.

The other scheme is the Ulster Canal restoration. I see the work ongoing there every time I go through Clones. That is really welcome. I hope that will continue.

I am interested in the educational attainment. The witnesses answered questions from Senator Currie. That is important work. I am also interested in supports for female entrepreneurs. I want to refer to disabled entrepreneurs. We often hear that the supports for disabled people to set up their own businesses are not sufficient. They do not meet the needs of disabled people. Could they be expanded to look at not just female entrepreneurship, which is important and I would like to hear more about, but also to look at disabled people too? It would be really beneficial.

The witnesses referred to work on climate change and energy security. The laws on smoky and smokeless fuel in the North and the South differ. In the South, we have stricter laws on what fuel can be burned. When you live in a Border county, smoky fuel is sold much cheaper just north of the Border, so people go there to buy their fuel. This is not monitored. Those selling fuel south of the Border are very concerned because they obey the law, pay their carbon tax and sell smokeless fuel. That fuel is much more expensive. This is an issue because it has an impact in the context of climate change. Can anything be done to harmonise our laws, North and South, on fuel, types of fuel and the damage it is doing to our environment? One cannot blame people in a cost-of-living crisis for buying what is cheaper. We have people who buy in bulk and sell illegally around the area, not just in the Border counties. It is an issue I have raised with the Minister for the environment, but there is no environment. The local authorities are supposed to enforce this but are not given the resources to do so.