Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

What we are seeing being played out in Dáil Éireann this week, and indeed in Westminster, is what happens when a weak leader takes a decision based on populism. That is what David Cameron did. He caved in to a populist campaign to rally against Europe. He tried his hand at a referendum and lost. We are left picking up the pieces.

I am reminded of the very first all-Ireland civic dialogue which I attended after the referendum almost two years ago when one of the civic society speakers, a lady whose name I cannot unfortunately recall, said in Dublin Castle that she hoped that it would come around to a second referendum and that then an informed decision would be taken by the people of the United Kingdom. That may play out and hopefully play out to the benefit of all and may serve to avoiding the completeimpasse, with the potentially dire consequences for this country. It has been said on so many occasions that there is no upside to Brexit. It is lose-lose all round. More and more I get the sense people who are UK-based and people with connections within the UK - I had two people who attended my clinic on Monday morning and I spoke with their family who live in Ireland and who have family who live in the UK who voted to leave - are now coming around to the view where they now see the folly of that decision. They now see the lies that were told during the campaign. If we can give ourselves one small clap on the back in this country in relation to anything, it is the manner in which we approach referendums in terms of having a Citizens Assembly and Oireachtas committee to thrash out the issues so that our public, with the assistance of all the reportage and the discourse that flows from that, can make a properly informed decision.

I wish to put two notes of criticism on the record which I believe are fair. We are coming to this debate very late. This legislation, which hopefully will never be enacted, is coming very late. When one looks around Europe, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Finland and Denmark all have their Brexit legislation at a far more advanced point in their process. Indeed many of them have it enacted and it is on their statute books.

The Minister will also be aware of the criticism we have been making on a repeated basis on preparedness, and business preparedness in particular, is valid. One just has to look at the recent AIB Brexit sentiment survey which revealed that only 8% of SMEs surveyed in the Republic of Ireland had a formal Brexit plan in place, despite this matter being raised repeatedly by me when I was in the role discharged by Deputy Kelleher now, and by him in his current role. It just has not happened in terms of business being informed and prepared. Survey after survey, whether it is the Chartered Accountants Ireland, AIB, or any of these non-governmental agencies which are carrying out these surveys which are independent, attest to the fact that business just has not performed. Only 5% of the Brexit loan scheme has been sanctioned and the €25 million allocation for the Brexit loan scheme for farmers announced in budget 2018 has still not opened.

I also want to mention a number of specifics which particularly impact the mid-west area and my Limerick constituency. Hauliers are very concerned because there is a complete unknown as to how the arrangements and the circumstances for facilitating the land bridge that hauliers rely on to get product across the UK and further into Europe and further afield will be catered for. There simply is not any plan in place in relation to that at the moment.

I also want to mention the Shannon Foynes Port Company in Limerick, one of our major ports. It has quite ambitious plans in a worst-case Brexit scenario where it has looked at and put a lot of thought into developing new shipping business which will circumvent the land bridge and go straight to destinations in Europe carrying product and opening up new channels for our supply chains. I am disappointed that the Government has not engaged more with the Shannon Foynes Port Company on this. I also ask and urge the Government to invest more in the Shannon Foynes Port Company because it is a huge economic driver in Limerick and in the mid west, servicing all the shipping on the Shannon estuary and all that goes with that in terms of trade and industry in the area.

I want to mention Shannon Airport as well as I recently had the benefit of a briefing from the airport which dealt with the lack of adequate capital investment and funding which is being provided by Government. Government may cite state aid rules. We have heard that there will be a relaxation of state aid rules as a measure and reaction to Brexit. Unfortunately Shannon Airport is slipping. One has to look at the growth in passenger numbers in this country, but Shannon Airport has an ever-declining market share. The airport will tell us that passenger numbers are up but the real barometer in air traffic is the falling market share.

Unfortunately, Dublin continues to gobble up the lion's share of the increase in market share while the rest of our airport infrastructure is lagging way behind. We need investment in Shannon Airport and to have a serious look at opening up more cargo hubs and cargo routes as a way to service industry in the event of no deal and a hard Brexit.

As regards the farming community, there are in excess of 4,000 farm families in my constituency in the wider Limerick area, comprising dairy farmers, beef farmers and suckler farmers, who are all very worried. We know about the pressure and stress the beef sector is under, and there was a meeting at Kilmallock mart recently where more than 350 beef farmers convened on the issue of falling beef prices. I saw the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine on RTÉ's "Prime Time" last Thursday night. He said that the Government and the EU stood ready, willing and able to step in to help our farming sector, in particular our beef sector. However, he was light on details so we need to hear more from Government, it is hoped in this debate, about how it intends to step in to help farm families and farming communities in Limerick and throughout the country. The Minister said the relaxation of state aid rules will allow for an increase in state aid from €15,000 to approximately €20,000 per farm but that will not be enough. I ask the Minister to address my issues in his reply.

It is to be hoped the legislation we are debating today will never have to be enacted. We hope a proper agreement will be reached or common sense will prevail in the United Kingdom and they rethink their decision and reverse it in its entirety.

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