Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It seems to me that one of the great difficulties is that each individual Minister is dragged left, right and centre in respect of their own portfolio and that there is a very strong case for a Minister who would be exclusively focused on the Brexit issue and putting together the various strands that are vital to a successful negotiation from Ireland's perspective in terms of Brexit and the engagement with various sectors. For example, serious issues arise in the fishing and maritime sector given that, with regard to quite a number of species of fish, up to 60% to 70% of the catch is in British waters. Post Brexit, that has obvious implications for many of our coastal communities if something is not done about it.

Recently, I met with the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association and it appears there has been no interaction with what is one of our world class industries which creates a huge amount of employment across rural Ireland in a sustainable way but which exports 80% of horses to the United Kingdom. Up to two weeks ago there had been no interaction with such an important industry in terms of the impact of Brexit on that industry.

There is a lot of activity taking place but some of the meetings are hastily convened. Some people got only a week's notice of the one next Friday. The content, substance and quality of the meeting is more important than just having the meeting and inviting everybody to it. I put it to the Taoiseach that he needs to build up more confidence among people with regard to Brexit and also, in terms of the gravity of it, among the public. I have said previously that I believe a huge opportunity was lost during the recent budget debate to convey that gravity.

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