Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The UK has been out of the EU for over a year now. What analysis is being undertaken by the Cabinet committee on the effects of Brexit on the Republic of Ireland? Some headlines in recent weeks have made reference to the effective end of the so-called land bridge, in that there has been a dramatic fall in Irish lorries using British ports and a rise in direct ferry routes to mainland Europe. Goods imports from Britain to the Republic have decreased by 20%. At the same time, cross-Border trade has increased substantially while exports from the Republic into Britain have increased by 20%. These statistics are compiled by the Central Statistics Office. We need to establish what is going on here. We are also told that Brexit has boosted international banks based in Ireland to the tune of over €500 billion and that Ireland is in second place behind Germany when it comes to the value of assets relocated to EU banks from UK banks after Brexit. We are all agreed that there is no such thing as a good Brexit. Has the Cabinet committee been able to consider a comprehensive report on the effects of Brexit one year on? What do the statistics tell us about the fallout from Brexit at this stage?

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