Dr. Pat Ivory:

I thank all the members for their kind words about the kind of work IBEC has been doing around Brexit and our policy document in particular, which sets out the challenges and proposes real solutions. That has been very well received at Brussels level as well as in our meetings with the European Commission's task force, etc.

Regarding the Border issue, which a number of members raised, it is clear to us from a business perspective that regardless of the solution that is arrived at between the European Union and the UK on these matters, there will be customs procedures for business. That is the reason we place so much emphasis in our policy document on customs and trade and examining how we can ensure that trade continues to flow between Ireland and the UK and also between Ireland, in transit across the UK, and our partners across Europe.

I accept that we should be looking at innovative solutions, perhaps in terms of developing trade through airports and linking in to other airports in Europe. That is something that will be useful to explore, but the reality is that the vast majority of goods that move between Ireland and the UK and Ireland and the EU are through ports on roll on-roll off trucks through the UK into the other ports in Europe. We have to find a sensible solution and in that context, Senator Leyden raised the issue of our partners in the UK on the business side. We have agreement with our partners in the business community across Europe that the focus now should be on having a prolonged period of transition arrangements of a number of years to provide the space to work through all these complex issues and also to arrive at the best possible future trading relationship between the EU and the UK. That is where we believe the attention should be focused in the negotiations.

We believe we need to keep under constant review the resources we are putting into cyber security in Ireland. It is an increasing risk for business. As an organisation, we have been doing much more in terms of looking at cyber security risks and threats. We have established a digital economy policy committee, which is in constant dialogue with Departments, and cyber security would be one of the items dealt with in that regard. We should examine all options, including having a director of national intelligence, and we should be working in close collaboration with our EU partners in terms of tackling cyber security into the future.

Senator Craughwell raised the issue of whether the tax system could be used to support development. We have a very well developed Irish aid programme. We are committed to the strategic development goals. I will travel to Geneva in the coming weeks to speak at the World Trade Organization, WTO, on the strategic development goals and how they are achieved.

We have to maintain complete sovereignty over our tax system. I welcome the comments from the Deputies and Senators, and the committee, that this is a critical item. We hope that in the committee's report on the future of European tax policy, which is a critical item, it remains at member state level and a sovereignty issue for us. There should be no movement towards qualified majority voting. There should be no acceptance of a digital tax in Europe of an equalising nature, which is currently being discussed. We believe those taxation issues are best left at member state level and the European Commission should not interfere in this particular area of member state competence.

We believe the future of Europe is a very important topic. On migration, which the Senator raised also, we would say that Ireland has always had an open approach to accepting people here as much as possible.

We also have a flexible and educated labour force. Many people from across the EU and further afield have contributed to business in Ireland and have helped to develop our business model. We want that access to skilled and educated labour from across the EU to continue because it adds a great deal to our economy and our businesses avail of it. This set-up also provides the well-educated Irish workforce, including young people, with good employment opportunities.