Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I would like to begin by welcoming the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, who addressed the Upper House earlier today. In my opinion, her visit underlines the importance of the connections between Scotland and the island of Ireland.

The national risk assessment paper identifies Brexit as one of five major risks facing the State in the time ahead.

Each day brings new information about the likely impact of Brexit and, in fact, this further information is changing the very assessment provided almost every other day. I can tell the House, as somebody representing and living within a Border constituency, the impacts of the Brexit decision are presenting every day in the lives of my community and the people I represent.

The British Prime Minister, Theresa May, recently told the Confederation of British Industry conference she is committed to introducing the lowest corporate tax in the world's 20 biggest economies and President-elect Trump has also set as one of his major economic goals a cut in corporation tax and the return of overseas investment and jobs to the US. How confident is the Taoiseach that measures introduced for budget 2017 will protect the Irish economy from both the US and Britain dramatically reducing their corporation tax rates? Has the Cabinet discussed these developments and the specific references I have made vis-à-visTheresa May and Donald Trump?

Notwithstanding the corporation tax announcement by Theresa May, the recently leaked memo from the British Cabinet Office points to serious divisions and the lack of a common strategy within the British Cabinet over how that Government should approach Brexit. Another embarrassing leak from the British Government suggests the British are trying to have their cake and eat it. This has sparked a stern response today from the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, who rejected any idea of cherry-picking on the Brexit negotiations.

All of this indicates a very difficult and challenging situation and I ask the Taoiseach if he is concerned. Last week in Cardiff, at the British-Irish Council, the Taoiseach said the Brexit negotiations would take longer. Will he elaborate on what exactly he means by that statement? Regarding the absence of Theresa May, there has been a lot of criticism that she did not attend or take part in the meeting. Does the Taoiseach agree her absence was not helpful?

I come from an inland constituency but I have had representations made to me from a whole raft of different experiences across the island of Ireland. To take the situation of the fishing industry, it has been decimated since the 1972 negotiations and some Irish vessels rely wholly on British ports to land their catches. Some 27% of the total value of all fish landed by Irish fishing boats goes through British ports. Has the Government examined the likely impact of Brexit on the Common Fisheries Policy and our fishing industry in particular?

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