Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein)
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I welcome Mr. McCarthy. In an article he wrote in June last year, he described the response of the Irish Government as a familiar sleep walking routine, with no urgency brought to preparing for contingencies. He suggested today that it should seek to be involved in pre-referendum discussions as well as post-referendum negotiations. In terms of contingency planning, what would he like to see? He said that he does not want to see a repeat of the bank guarantee approach to policy making.

As the Vice Chairman noted, I am from County Cavan in the Border region and for this reason I am very interested in the issue. If a referendum on leaving the EU is carried, what would it mean to the Border region, including the local economy and people's daily lives in the North of Ireland? What would it mean for the North-South dimension and the relationships in political, economic and cultural spheres? Would there be implications in terms of replacing structural funding to allow the Border region to deal with legacy issues?

The removal of border controls in Ireland has been recognised as a key facilitator in increasing all-Ireland trade and tourism, therefore, if these controls are reintroduced, what does Mr. McCarthy believe would be the impact?