John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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The Commissioner has heard the concerns about Brexit, which are clearly understood. There is no upside to Brexit. It is important to remember that Ireland took one for the team, as it were, in the financial crisis and we continue to carry the burden of that. The banks do not function as they should and we continue to pay back huge amounts of money arising from that crash. During that period, the SME sector was decimated, as was farming. Rural areas are under considerable pressure to catch up with some of the bigger urban centres, particularly Dublin. There is the budget under CAP in terms of rural development. The second one is market related expenditure and direct payments. On the social side of it is economic, social and territorial cohesion. No one has mentioned fishing today. Those involved in fishing have suffered immensely in the past ten years.

Ireland is doing well now. I do not want the Commissioner to leave here without knowing that behind that national story there is another story about rural areas that cannot be ignored in terms of funding through CAP and other measures, especially the social element of it. Therefore, the Commissioner has a very difficult job to do. If any of these programmes are cut to the extent of 30% or whatever it might be in the end, it will have a devastating effect on our economy. Farming is the backbone of our economy - food and dairy production for export. All of that has been affected in the past by banking. Many farmers are under pressure regarding their financial structure within our institutions and are receiving absolutely no support from the banks. To compound it by having a cut in the supports from Europe will be devastating for those sectors that are beginning to improve but are carrying enormous debt from the past. Therefore, there is a special case to be made for Ireland in terms of the banking crisis, in terms of Brexit and in terms of what we are trying to cope with vis-à-visour economy. Central to that economy is Irish farming, rural Ireland and the SME sector.

Deputy Lisa Chambers made a point regarding convincing young people about their future in Europe. I believe we need to convince all the citizens in the European Union of the importance of Europe because many would ask serious questions about Europe and its future. In the context of these discussions, someone has to explain in detail the cost of the administration of Europe. Someone has to explain the importance of Europe and where we are going. However, we cannot forget the sectors within our economy that still have serious problems. It is important for the Commissioner to understand that not every boat has risen and that many are still under water. I ask the Commissioner to take those last few questions and make a closing statement.