Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It need hardly be said that this is an extremely important debate. It was very important that senior people from the Commission and the European Parliament had the opportunity to engage with us here in the Oireachtas. Some months ago and at my invitation, the Vice-President of the Commission, Mr. Franz Timmermans, came to a joint meeting of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence, the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs. It was the first public recognition at a committee by a senior Commission official that the Good Friday Agreement had to be protected. He accepted the arguments of the Chairman and other members of the committees of the centrality of the Good Friday Agreement to the future development of our country. We recorded very strongly that day the fact that since May 1998, the Good Friday Agreement had transformed our island.

As a person with the privilege of representing two of the Southern Ulster counties, I cross the Border several times a day as I travel in my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan. If I travel from Cavan town to Clones, I go in and out of Fermanagh four times. As such, I know what impediments and obstacles might exist for the likes of me and others living in that community in going about our daily business. The Good Friday Agreement has been transformative. I welcome the fact that Mr. Michel Barnier and, last week, Mr. Guy Verhofstadt have recognised in the House the importance of ensuring that the agreement is protected in full. We should refuse to countenance any diminution in the workings of the agreement or of its potential. One of the best meetings I participated in at parliamentary level on Brexit, its challenges and opportunities, was a meeting of the North-South Interparliamentary Association in the early days of December 2016. The association consists of members from Stormont and the Oireachtas. We had an extremely good, frank and vigorous debate that day. It was extremely important to widen the discussion to include people who do not share our views on this very important issue. Sadly, there is no Executive or Assembly in the North today yet we have never needed them more. I hope sincerely the Minister and his colleagues in government will work might and main to ensure the institutions get back up and running.

I have highlighted in the House on numerous occasions the vulnerability of the area I represent. The economy of the central Border area of Cavan, Fermanagh, Monaghan, Tyrone and Armagh is heavily dependent on the agrifood, construction products and engineering sectors. They are the three most vulnerable sectors as a result of Brexit. They have already been impacted by the fluctuations and weakness of sterling since June 2016. I have appealed to the Government at every opportunity, including during Question Time and other debates in the Dáil, to ensure that sector-specific assistance is given to enterprises in these sectors to help them remain competitive. They face huge challenges. In an area that suffered so much due to the Troubles over a period of more than 30 years, it was local enterprise and entrepreneurial flair that led to the creation of very successful businesses which have been built in the agrifood, construction products and engineering sectors. These sectors have been impacted most already as a result of the British referendum and they remain the most vulnerable. They are the most reliant on the British market for the export of their products. The budget is only a few weeks away and I must again appeal for specific assistance for those very vulnerable sectors.

I note also the tourism and hospitality sector. In the area I represent, a sizeable proportion of the sector's business comes from Northern Ireland. Obviously, the weakness of sterling has already had an impact. I hope sincerely that the 9% VAT rate will not be changed. While a change may be fine and dandy for hotels in the larger urban areas which are doing well, there is still a need for a major recovery in rural areas. It is essential to maintain the current VAT rate.

Some speakers earlier referred to the understandable focus in our Brexit debates on the economy, business and trade. Brexit will also impact on the provision of education and health services in my area. We have 30,000 people a day crossing the Border to go about their daily business of attending work or accessing health and education services.

We must ensure that, under no circumstances, obstacles are put in the way of people going about their daily business or in the movement of goods or services.

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