Mr. Máirtín Ó Muilleoir:

There is €600 million available in PEACE and INTERREG funding between now and 2020. If one believes in fairies, one will also believe that the British Government might replace that money post 2020. We want to find a way to allow the EU to continue those programmes. I said previously it is not just about the programmes themselves but, equally, that engagement with the EU is essential for the type of society we wish to have.

Senator Davitt asked about co-location of jobs, which ties in with the point Senator Reilly made about opportunities that may arise from Brexit. I have no doubt there will be companies leaving London to come here, especially in the financial services sector, if Brexit does happen. I understand the British Prime Minister, Ms May, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Hammond, met representatives of the financial services industry in London yesterday where there was talk about a special status for the sector. To go back to the point Deputy Smith made, there seems to be a willingness to make special cases for capital but not so much for people. There may be advantages or opportunities in the short term for this jurisdiction if companies wish to go in the other direction, but there must be a cost-benefits analysis. What may seem like swings and roundabouts could be much more detrimental to the economy and the people, North and South, in the time ahead.

I am not sure how many people would wish to co-locate north of the Border but the idea does call to mind a proposal of this committee last January, in its all-island report, for an enterprise zone along the Border. That is a live concept and something the committee and Mr. Hazzard and I, as Ministers, might look at in the context of the wriggle room to which Senator Davitt referred. Certainly, the best solution, not just for the British but for all EU member states, would be a retention of the status quoon this island. That would best suit the economy on both parts of the island. After that, if we see opportunities we can seize in Britain, that could be brought forward on another day. To use Senator Davitt's example of the concrete industry, seeing companies like Quinn Building Products and Creigh Concrete, both based in County Antrim, having to pay tariffs to trade across the Border would be a major setback.