Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Even though the time is limited I appreciate the two and a half minutes to put my point of view. I will keep this parochial. We should not forget that the backbone of our economy, particularly in places like my Roscommon-Galway constituency, is agriculture, as the three Ministers present will realise. Up to 80% of our agrifood produce is exported. Of course, much of that goes fresh to Britain. We often talk about markets such as China and other far-flung places. It takes a long time and it is usually frozen food such as frozen beef that goes there. However, we can send fresh food to Britain.

In fairness, I know the Government gives good support to the development of artisan foods, which has been a major success and continues to grow. Many of those units, mainly based in rural areas, are very small, employing six, eight, ten or 12 people. Their market is Ireland, North and South, and Britain. Many people involved in those businesses tell me that they will be in big trouble with Brexit and find it hard to survive. We must give all the support we can to those businesses.

Although I live in Roscommon, I am still one hour from the Border. If border checks come into place it will cause major problems. Ireland has 6.6 million cattle. Some 75 million chickens are produced, many of them exported, each year. Some 5 million turkeys are produced each year and 2 million pigs. Some €800 million worth of pigmeat is exported. Many jobs are linked to this production. We need to be on the ball ensuring that if this Brexit occurs, we will protect that business as much as we can. Any border checkpoints will affect free trade which is vital to the country.

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