Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We are all aware that the farming and agrifood sectors will be particularly exposed to the effects of Brexit. Some commentators have suggested that we might be able to attract foreign direct investment. However, jobs that are lost in the agrifood sector will be lost straight away. The European Union Committee of the House of Lords recently published a report on the impact of Brexit which included a suggestion that "Dublin’s limited infrastructure and shortage of housing might deter financial firms from relocating there". The relocation of financial services is one of the supposed benefits of Brexit. It is clear that we will fail to realise that opportunity because of the State's failure to invest in infrastructure over a number of years. On Tuesday of this week, members of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence met Dutch parliamentarians who were on a fact-finding mission to Ireland. They were shocked to hear about the concerns we have in this country regarding the Border. They were talking about the North, in particular, when they said that Ireland is not on the radar of the EU. We need to spend more money. We need to get over there more often.

See this speech in context