David Maxwell (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

The shared island unit has been transformational in how it is dealing with matters cross-Border and the projects that are there. There is the Narrow Water Bridge, the Ulster Canal, which is local to me, and the new marina. Linking up to the section at Castlesaunderson will be the next phase. The money for the university in Derry is welcome for the north west. I used the hourly train service this morning. It is busy. You can physically see the number of people who are using it now because of the frequency. It shows rail will work when there is a frequent service. It is at a particular price point.

Tourism is a big thing. There is Cuilcagh and Slieve Beagh, which is an untapped area. It borders Monaghan, Tyrone and Fermanagh. It is something that can be very much improved. The A5 needs to be delivered. The upgrade from Aughnacloy to Derry and Letterkenny will open up the north west. It is needed but the section from Aughnacloy back to Ardee needs to be looked at. We do not want people to leave Dublin, get to Ardee, go back onto secondary roads and then rejoin a motorway at Aughnacloy. We need that continuity. That is something we need to look at.

On sport, Casement Park is a big issue. There is St. Tiernach's Park in Clones. It is a cross-Border issue. There is a new civic and sporting aspect with the GAA. The local club in Clones , Monaghan GAA and Monaghan County Council are coming together. It is something I may be seeking to push going forward. It is a cross-Border project - it sits on the Border - so it is something that would fall under the shared island unit.

We had a meeting with Trade NI about a week or ten days ago. It was an informal meeting but we learned that more is bringing us together than dividing us when it comes to manufacturing, retail and tourism. As Deputy Moynihan said, we can see the physical aspects in the shape of the Narrow Water Bridge and Clones Marina and everything else, and that is great, but it is the work underneath that level and behind the scenes that is bringing people together.

The question from Deputy Moynihan on cross-Border transnational workers was answered. We have a lot of people coming into County Monaghan from Northern Ireland with their skill sets and being hired. It is the same in counties Louth, Cavan and everywhere else. People from the South go into the North with their skill sets as well. Nobody really passed any remarks until Covid came. That threw up the point made by people that they had worked in Northern Ireland all their lives but were not entitled to the Covid payment in the South, or vice versa. We get people coming into my office, especially now, who have worked in Northern Ireland and had a doctor there. Now they have retired, they cannot get a doctor south of the Border because they have never had one here. These are the sorts of things that arise. I know it is not for the shared island unit but it is something we need to look at in the context of workers' rights. Many more people have been crossing the Border since the Good Friday Agreement. They are working and travelling back and forth.

There is plenty of work to be done. As I said, the projects we can see, such as the Narrow Water Bridge, etc., are great and everything, but people do not see the work done underneath that layer. It will be critically important to build trust going forward and to bring the island's economies together to work for everybody. I have no real question because I think most of them were answered.