Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Was the Minister taken aback by the comments made by First Minister Arlene Foster when she seemed to complain that agencies under the aegis of her Department, such as IDA Ireland and so on, are poaching jobs from the North? Why would Ms Foster say that? Given the special status of Northern Ireland and its critical importance to this country, we have to ensure that the position of its economy is protected in the Brexit negotiations. Will the Minister comment on that? In the first debate we had on that issue, I called for the appointment of a Brexit Minister who would have responsibility for all the relevant issues across Government. The Minister has a plethora of critical organisations in job creation, job protection and so on but I refer also to the Departments of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Communications, Climate Action and Environment and a range of others. We spoke recently about what will happen in terms of the Common Fisheries Policy. We always believed we got a terrible deal in that area in 1973. What is the Minister's opinion? Does she believe we should have a Brexit Minister? She is handling a good deal of it - and I commend her on that - but will that be necessary when Article 50 is triggered?

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