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

The overriding priority in terms of Brexit is trade. It is the issue that will determine the degree of damage that will be done to the island of Ireland as a result of Brexit. In other words, if a bespoke deal is done with Britain, which maintains, in essence, the Single Market that we currently enjoy, then significant progress may be made in damage limitation in terms of Brexit. In that context, has the Cabinet Committee on the Economy, Trade and Jobs commissioned or produced a position paper or analysis on the impact on trade of a hard Brexit and has it undertaken a sector by sector analysis in terms of the impact of the British decision to leave the European Union? We have some idea of the likely impact on the agrifood sector. The Taoiseach referenced fishing rights in terms of our capacity to fish our quota, a significant amount of which currently takes place in British waters. It seems to me that we cannot take our eye off the ball in terms of trade. I know the European Union will be doing the bulk of the negotiations but surely at this stage there must be a sector by sector analysis by the Cabinet Committee on the Economy, Trade and Jobs and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation with a view to our having an idea as to the potential impact of Brexit on trade. Can the Taoiseach confirm whether work has been undertaken on such a paper and, if so, will he commit to publishing it?

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