Mr. Damian McGenity:

I thank the committee for inviting us to come before it. It is a very good opportunity to explain who we are and what we would like to see done as a result of Brexit. I apologise on behalf of our main spokesperson, Mr. Declan Fearon, who is unable to be with us today due to work commitments. I thank the Clerk and the staff for co-ordinating the meeting.

Border Communities Against Brexit comprises ordinary individuals. Mr. Sheridan and I are farmers and Mr. O'Hara is involved in tourism. Border Communities Against Brexit has members from along the Border, from Derry right around to Dundalk. It came about mainly because there was no real voice in Border communities lobbying on behalf of the remain vote, which was 56%, in the North. It became very clear very quickly after the Brexit debate there was almost a demonisation of people who wanted to fight to remain in the European Union. We are often called remoaners and this is something we have steadfastly stood against.

Our main concern is that as a result of Brexit there would be a hard Border on the island of Ireland. I was here with Mr. Fearon two weeks ago to listen to the EU chief negotiator, Mr. Barnier. We certainly welcome the high-level engagement Europe has had on Brexit. It understands very well the situation in Ireland. The Taoiseach and the Ministers have done a lot of work on this front. Our key concern following Mr. Barnier's address is the EU would seek to protect its borders. It is understandable that this would be the case from a European perspective and from the perspective of protecting European food consumers. The impact of a hard border, through its economic ramifications and the jobs it would potentially put at risk, is enormous, as well as the social impact of hemming in people away from their natural hinterland or with regard to visiting their families.

The Irish ambassador to the UK, Mr. Mulhall, has said that 2 million vehicles cross the Border each month. Approximately 30,000 workers cross the Border on a daily basis. The main sectors we have lobbied, having identified them as being to the forefront of the Brexit debate, are agriculture, agrifood and tourism. In the North alone, there are 100,000 people employed in the agriculture and agrifood sectors. Mr. O'Hara will talk about tourism, which is an all-Ireland sector. There are 260,000 people employed in that sector. There is huge concern in the South about the impact the Brexit talks will have on trade between the South and the UK, particularly in the beef sector, where 90,000 jobs are at risk. According to a report that was published by the Central Bank recently, 40,000 jobs could be at risk as a direct result of Brexit in the next five years.

The North has depended on EU support. The EU has been very good to the North. Billions of pounds have been invested, particularly in rural communities. Under the Common Agricultural Policy, approximately £240 million is provided in direct support to farmers every year. We have been told that Britain will leave the EU in two years' time. That is a huge risk. There has been no real detailed discussion on how Britain will be able to sell produce on the world market. Europe has trade deals with 60 countries. Given that Brexit is happening so soon, we do not know how the agrifood sector in the North can expect to get trade deals to sell products. We do not think it is possible. If Britain crashes out of the EU with no deal, we will be looking at WTO tariffs. As we have outlined in our document, such tariffs range from 13% to 60% in the agriculture sector, depending on the product being sold. Such issues are of huge concern to us.

Those who support Brexit have not yet set out in detail how they envisage that the problems which have been identified will be resolved. That is why we have called from an early stage for the EU and the Irish and British Governments to engage with the possibility of securing a special status for Northern Ireland. We believe this is the only way to protect trade and the movement of people and goods on the island of Ireland. The effect of this proposal would be to move the EU border to the Irish Sea. We do not think this would affect the constitutional position of the North in any way. We would like to discuss this proposal further with the committee today.