Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. NESC is doing comprehensive studies in very important areas. I want to again mention an issue that I flagged with the Taoiseach's predecessor, and with the Taoiseach when he held the office previously. Will NESC carry out an assessment of the all-Ireland economy, particularly in the context of cross-Border trade, where there has been development and growth to the benefit of all of our country? Representing two of the southern Ulster counties, I see at first hand the value and importance of the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and what it has done from so many points of view, including the economic. We have one economy now, the all-Ireland economy. However, the central Border region of Cavan, Monaghan, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Armagh is vulnerable because it is highly dependent on a small number of particular sectors, such as food, farming, construction products and tourism. We saw the threat that existed with Brexit. We now see the challenges that may arise in the context of tariffs being imposed on the European Union, maybe at a different rate from those that will be imposed on Britain. While we all sincerely hope that does not happen, we have to be prepared for it.

I have asked repeatedly, through the Office of the Taoiseach and in various parliamentary questions, if NESC would undertake a study on the challenges facing the central Border region, North and South, and also the opportunities for further economic development. I have been a representative there for some time. I saw the challenges with currency fluctuations and the movement of trade that devastated our local economy over many years. We should be prepared for turbulence in the economy that may arise but that nobody can readily predict. It is one area where we need to do more research and be prepared.

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