Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am not sure of the exact breakdown of it but I suppose that detail will be available before next week and before the Taoiseach goes to the European Council. In discussions with my European colleagues I have flagged our concern about the allocation method and the fact that it is clearly a screenshot of a much healthier looking economy or environment than where we are now. As I said, we have specifically raised the need for that flexibility to respond to any Brexit scenario or shock later this year and I believe that has been taken into account.

I can assure the Deputy in terms of fisheries. Two weeks ago, when Michel Barnier came before the committee, the Minister, and all other fisheries ministers agreed that we cannot, and should not, stray from the mandate that was given that fisheries remain firmly part of the overall discussions and the overall trade deal and that without progress on fisheries, there cannot be progress on an overall trade deal and vice versa. That is our position and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine made that very clear at the most recent meeting.

In terms of connectivity, first and foremost, our priority is to try to make sure that there is an agreement in place in respect of the land bridge. The fact that the UK has agreed to accept the common transit convention is extremely helpful. It means that goods coming from mainland Europe to Ireland will, hopefully, be able to pass through much quicker without having to go through the ins and outs of normal checks. At the same time, it is important that we have more direct routes. The MV W.B. Yeats- I always get the names mixed up - the largest roll-on-roll-off ferry, was added last year in addition to two more routes that were added. We are consistently trying to increase our capacity but if more is needed later on this year, depending on what happens, we are in constant contact with the various ferry companies to see where we could expand. Some of the direct routes will work for business and industries. Some of them will not, and that is the reason the land bridge is equally as important.

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