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

I wish to air a few issues. Taking up where Deputy Casey left off, I must state that this is not about clapping ourselves on the back. There is unity of purpose across the House, which is good. We all recognise that a no-deal Brexit could happen at the end of March. Hopefully, it will not. If it does and if the UK crashes out of the EU, it will pose a significant challenge. I have no doubt the Irish people will rise to meet that challenge.

For quite a long time, I have watched the debate in the British Parliament among the various parties. Some of the debate has been extraordinary and appalling. Some of the debate about Northern Ireland has been frightening, to say the least. Whatever our differences in this House, it is good that we are all focused on what could happen to us on 29 March.

There is no doubt that this is a colossal crisis. Other Deputies referred to the fact that, regardless of what happens on 29 March and even if the UK does not crash out, this matter will not go away for a long time. Brexit is not over. We see the damage it has done, particularly in the agribusiness sector. We see the depressed state of markets, the reduction in prices for livestock and the fear in the farming community. When we speak about that crisis in agriculture, sometimes we do not think about the number of jobs that are tied up in agriculture and agrifood and the strength of the agrifood sector. In fairness, the Government is giving grants to agrifood businesses as well. These businesses have become so important in creating employment in many parts of our country.

When we look at exports to the UK, we can see that agrifood exports were valued at €5.2 billion in 2017. This figure increased in 2018. In particular, the beef industry is hugely reliant on the UK market with almost 50% of beef exports going to the UK in 2017. In the event of a no-deal Brexit and the UK opening its doors to South American beef, which is a real threat, the situation for agribusiness in this country and the many thousands of people employed in it would be catastrophic. These people are employed in many parts of the country. We are less than 30 days away from the date when the UK is scheduled to leave the UK and at this juncture, the risk of a no-deal Brexit is a very real possibility. When, as Deputy Casey noted, new Members came into the House three years ago in February 2016, could any have guessed that we would be here on an evening like this facing such uncertainty in the context of what will happen in a few weeks?

If what we are discussing comes to pass and if Irish beef is forced to compete in the UK market against cheaper imports from other countries, there is no doubt thousands of jobs will be lost. It is not that I want to be negative but it is a stark reality we may have to face. Every effort must be made to safeguard the industry and the thousands of people employed in it, directly and indirectly. I urge the Government to ensure that sufficient contingency plans are in place, including a financial aid package. Such a package was announced two budgets ago for the farming community but it still has not materialised, even though it was promised.

Deputy Casey referred to tourism. In counties such as mine, where not many industrial jobs were created over the years, tourism has become a product on which we are more and more reliant. While agribusiness is the backbone of our local economy, there are many visitors to, for example, Lough Key forest park in Boyle, County Roscommon, known to many in this House, which attracts 80,000 to 90,000 people each year, and Strokestown House, which attracts 70,000 people each year. The figures have been growing significantly in recent years and many of those visitors come from England. It would be a severe blow if we were to suffer due to a no-deal Brexit.

On driving licences, we had a presentation yesterday on the green card. There is still confusion as to Irish people living here who spent many years in Britain and got their driving licence in Britain. Where do they stand? Some say they can flip over their licence and that they need to do it before 29 March but I am not so sure. The Tánaiste might be able to clarify that later or ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, to do so.

I want to conclude with reference to the importance of the peace process. The Acting Chairman lived in an area on the Border and saw what happened over the years. It is such an important issue in all of this. I happened to be at a party function in Cavan recently and I saw the fear among people in the Border counties regarding a hard frontier and what might result from that. I grew up in a time when there was no local radio but every single morning we woke up to the headlines on national radio to the effect that, for example, five people had been killed somewhere in Northern Ireland, six people had been killed somewhere else, a garda had been shot, soldiers had been shot or maybe children were not allowed pass an area in order to get to school. There is a generation that does not realise what happened and what the Troubles in Northern Ireland did to us, as a nation. While the economy is important, if our peace process was to be shattered in any way, it would put us back a long way.

I hope that, at the end of next month, we will not have to come back and discuss this too much and that there will not be a crash-out. If there is, we will have a lot of difficulties with which to deal.

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