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

I thank the Minister for the reply and welcome the proposed development at Knockaconny. The provision of workspace enterprise centres, whether by the private sector or via community endeavour, is welcome and should be supported. The Minister is well aware that our counties were held back for many decades due to the Troubles and the paramilitary activity inflicted on our province over many decades. Hopefully, we are not returning to an era in which the Border is seen as a negative location. In advance of Brexit and regardless of the outcome, which in any event will not be favourable, the Minister's Department and its agencies must think about providing new streams of incentives. In the past, we had Objective One status to help the less developed parts of the country. Cohesion funding post-2020 is one of the important ingredients the Department and its agencies should be working to put in place to secure employment and bring inward investment to our region, which will need it following the adverse impacts on critical sectors of the local economy.

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