Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will make a few points about the agrifood sector. Agriculture is under economic pressure and primary producers are finding it extremely hard to survive. A hard Brexit scenario sends a shiver up the spine. The predictions are that by 2030 if Britain chooses to join the European economic area after Brexit, Ireland will lose 15% of its exports to the UK. That number increases to 31% if it falls back on WTO rules.

The beef sector will probably be the hardest hit sector. Some 35% of our trade will be lost if WTO rules apply. It is impossible to imagine that scenario. If WTO rules apply to the dairy sector, Ireland will lose 40% of its trade.

The UK is obviously our nearest customer and we are greatly dependent on it. Think of our processing industry under a hard Brexit. Consider the level of cross-Border trade. Each week 1,500 milk lorries cross the Border to be processed here. There is talk of different food standards operating in Northern Ireland compared with the Twenty-six Counties under a hard Brexit. We must consider the practicalities of how that will work and the economic hardship that they will bring. We have discussed Brexit for some time but the harsh reality of the economic damage is really coming home. It is hard to envisage how the family farm structure as we know it will survive under a hard Brexit.

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