Mr. Ian Talbot:

Chambers Ireland is the largest business network in the State. With members in every geographic region and economic sector in Ireland, we are well positioned to understand the concerns of businesses from all areas in the country and represent their views. We also work very closely with our chambers in other jurisdictions. The Northern Irish chamber is a member of Chambers Ireland and we are working very closely with it as we see that work as valuable. We are also working extremely closely with European Chambers of Commerce to profile the case for Ireland within this Article 50 and subsequent negotiations. I also welcome the opportunity to be able to bring Mr. Paddy Malone, the public relations officer of the Dundalk chamber, to the meeting as he can give us a real sense of what is happening on the ground in Border areas that will be most impacted immediately and in future. With that in mind, I will pull some extracts from my supplied submission to ensure Mr. Malone gets some time to speak.

Following the UK's vote in June to exit the European Union, there continues to be a large degree of uncertainty as to what will happen next. We have already seen significant market and currency volatility and we have a great concern about the lack of understanding about whether the departure will also entail leaving the Single Market and the customs union as well as the consequent impact. It is also very clear that the interruption and likely reduction in trade between Ireland and the UK will have a disproportionate impact on our indigenous firms, especially our exporting SMEs, which are very reliant on the UK as a primary market. There are also supply chain issues for Irish companies that may not even realise they have an exposure in this area.

We have been very vocal over the past few years about the need of the Irish economy to retain competitiveness to grow and that remains more important than ever. Due to the existence of a land Border between the Republic of Ireland and the UK, the Irish position is unique. Mr. Malone will address issues such as the number of people transferring across the Border day in, day out just to do their jobs.

From our network of chambers there is a sense that Brexit will provide some opportunities for Ireland. If we can enhance Ireland's competitiveness relative to the UK and other EU member states, we may well see the opportunity for foreign direct investment companies choosing to locate operations here as well as expand indigenous companies.

While we cannot control the negotiations or the effects of Brexit, we can ensure Ireland is an attractive location for investment and continues to be an excellent environment in which to do business. In that regard, we need to focus on competitiveness and infrastructure, to invest in our transport network, education and training systems, as well as on the cost competitiveness of our enterprises, particularly costs which can be impacted by the Government, child care costs and housing.

We do not believe it was ever possible to Brexit-proof a budget as we do not know what Brexit will involve. We would like to see, however, a focus on credit export, how we can free up new credit opportunities and different products used in different parts of the world, including export credit guarantee schemes, to help companies export into new markets. We also call on the Government and elected representatives to support the European Commission's trade strategy. Trade agreements with the US and Canada will be necessary.

We accept the UK exit from the EU is only one part of a much broader set of challenges to the EU economy such as migration, youth unemployment and climate change. We must make great efforts to communicate the uniqueness of our situation going forward. The Government cannot solve this in isolation. The private sector stands ready to add its support. We have to control the controllables.