Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

There is going to be a flow and a fluidity in this from year to year, but the overall picture of investment in the south east and in Waterford has been positive and will continue to be in terms of Government commitment to the county.

Deputy Moynihan raised the very important issue of SMEs, and that is covered by the LEEF. Divergence in employment standards and taxation issues between North and South were mentioned. We have more work to do under the shared island aegis in the context of cross-Border workers. The Minister for Finance has been engaging with the Minister for Finance in the Executive. The taxation issues are thorny and complex because they also relate to how cross-border taxation is dealt with in the European Union itself. It is a growing issue since the onset of remote working. Deputy Ó Murchú raised this as well. It is a continuing issue. The Minister for Finance is focused on it. It is something LEEF is concerned about. Supply chains are becoming more seamless between North and South and in some sectors like dairy and energy it is a seamless market or a continuum of trade and so on. It is therefore important we try to get some position that is advantageous to workers, but we do not necessarily want to distort the economy of either jurisdiction, especially the North, in terms of its labour force.

Deputy Dolan raised schools. Schools do not get considered by the LEEF. SNA allocations will obviously have to be fed through the National Council for Special Education, which makes recommendations. On the allocation of SNAs, the numbers have grown exponentially and there are about 20,000 SNAs in the system. I will alert the Minister for education to the Deputy's raising of these issues.

Deputy Ó Murchú raised the tariff and the Army pensions. Again, I will relay that to the Tánaiste. I dealt with remote working. The LEEF has considered that. It is very conscious of the potential implications of tariffs on trade for employment. We have urged that we avoid a knee-jerk reaction. People were immediately looking for subsidies, which would have been the wrong thing because that situation has not unfolded yet. A lot depends on the nature of the trade deal between the European Union and the United States. I hope they reach a headline agreement before 8 July. I am hopeful they will and that the landing zone is one we can all live with, although it will be challenging and difficult for many companies, such as those in agrifood and general exports into the US. If there is a minimum floor of a tariff, that could be challenging for companies, so we will assess it in the round in terms of how we deal with it.

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