Mr. John Sheridan:

I thank the Chairman and the committee for having us here. It is a momentous occasion and I hope it will not be repeated anywhere else in Europe. The fastest way to do this is probably to introduce myself, as on the presentation, and Mr. O'Hara will probably do the same and then we will go straight into any questions the committee has.

As is in the presentation before members, my name is John Sheridan. I am a farmer on the very south-western corner of Fermanagh. Most of the farm is located in the International Geo Park, Marble Arch, which is jointly managed by Fermanagh-Omagh and Cavan district councils. It is the only one of its kind in the world. In the context of rural affairs, that geo-park accounts for approximately 30% of the tourist business in our area and directly employs approximately 70 people in our locality. Its significance, of course, is that the Border divides the geo-park between Fermanagh and Cavan.

There is no such thing as a soft border and any level of borderisation will be a hard border by stealth, thereby putting a fragile peace process at risk. At risk also are our markets for beef and lamb in the red meat industry, which we farm. The land is all in a special area of conservation, a European designation of the highest order. There is also concern about the loss of funding to our schools and colleges, effects on our European health cards and free skies agreement, as well as the creation of an "us and them" factor throughout Europe. This could be the beginning of a slippery slope towards the division of Europe and we all know this is the longest period of peace that Europe has ever had.

This will ruin rural communities in my mind and those in our grouping, Border Communities Against Brexit. It will harm our heritage so through Border Communities Against Brexit we call for the Good Friday Agreement to be properly addressed and implemented. We are convinced we have a right to a special designated status for the economy of the island of Ireland without affecting its Constitution.