Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 23 March 2023

Public Accounts Committee

2021 Financial Statements of Enterprise Ireland: Discussion

9:30 am

Photo of Brian StanleyBrian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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With Brexit, obviously, I have seen the figures for North-South trade improve in recent years. That is one of the things that needed to happen. Many of us saw 25 years ago that there was an opportunity with the Good Friday Agreement and the all-Ireland structures. Hopefully, the political all-Ireland structures will follow and get back in place fairly soon. We can only hope on that front. That is the missing piece at the moment. Economically and in terms of jobs North and South, the volume of trade both ways has improved dramatically since Brexit and in spite of Brexit.

With regard to the protocol with the blue and red ribbon on it - the so-called Windsor Framework - do the witnesses feel they will have a better opportunity in those areas in terms of consolidating companies and economies in the North with better harmonisation because of the trading both ways? Is there an opportunity for those Border corridors in counties south of the Border on the Twenty-six Counties side and in the case of Donegal, north of the Border? Does that open up an opportunity for them to develop further generally in terms of economic development?