Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We do not want to be argumentative about this. I was in Brussels for the past two days as part of a Fianna Fáil parliamentary delegation to discuss Brexit. We met Commissioner Hogan, the Council and political groupings. There is significant support in Europe for addressing the issue of the Border in the context of the all-island arrangement and the Good Friday Agreement. I am concerned that if the Border issue is addressed, we will have used up all of our political capital and will not have enough- in the context of state aid rules - to get things changed in the future. I urge that the Minister of State, at the next Competitiveness Council meeting, signal that the Government is going to submit an application for the relaxation of the state aid rules in order to allow for higher thresholds to be made available to companies so that they can be prepared in advance of Brexit, rather than trying to make the case after the event.

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