Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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24. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her role in dealing with the consequences of Brexit within a regional and rural affairs context and the threat it poses to communities on both sides of the Border; the contingencies her Department has prepared in view of the threats it poses to the livelihoods of persons in rural Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11791/17]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Ba mhaith liom ceist a chur ar an Aire mar gheall ar Brexit agus cad atá á dhéanamh aici agus ag an Roinn chun cabhair a thabhairt do mhuintir na réigiún ar an dá thaobh den Teorainn. An bhfuil a fhios aici go bhfuil an-eagla ar dhaoine go mbeidh poist chustaim ann arís ar an Teorainn?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I am acutely aware of the challenges arising from Brexit for rural Ireland and for the Border area in particular. Last November, I hosted a productive public forum on Brexit in Monaghan which was attended by a range of interests from the Border region. I also hosted a sectoral dialogue on Brexit in Cavan on 6 February which was attended by over 100 stakeholders from across the arts, culture, film, heritage, Irish language, regional and rural affairs sectors.

This sectoral dialogue meeting focused on the impacts of Brexit on the sectors served by my Department, with particular attention being given to the impact on rural and Border communities. This event was part of the ongoing engagement with civil society initiated through the series of all-island civic dialogues hosted by the Taoiseach.

The actions set out in Realising our Rural Potential - the Government's Action Plant for Rural Development, which was launched in January - will also assist in supporting rural communities, including those in Border areas, to meet the challenges posed by Brexit and to position themselves to avail of the opportunities which may arise. The action plan contains over 270 actions to be delivered by a range of Government Departments, State agencies and other bodies and sets out to support sustainable communities, support enterprise and employment, maximise our rural and recreation potential, foster culture and creativity and improve rural connectivity.

The plan sets out a number of actions which will address the effects of Brexit in particular. For example, specific research will be commissioned on the impact of Brexit on rural areas, and particularly rural areas in the Border region. InterTradeIreland will fund the development of a programme of initiatives to increase the awareness and capacity of SMEs to deal with the practical consequences of Brexit for cross-Border trade.

I am confident my Department’s preparations for Brexit are comprehensive and will assist in ensuring that rural communities and businesses are equipped as best as they can be to deal with the issues which will arise.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Is the Minister aware of the indication, which has been confirmed by an tAire Airgeadais, that there may be customs posts along the Border and that, in the event of Britain leaving the customs union, the Republic will be the border of the 27 remaining states and that the Northern Ireland side of the Border will be the frontier for the United Kingdom? I am sure the Minister is aware that this is highly concerning for people living along the Border. Matters improved dramatically for communities in the aftermath of Britain joining the EU and since the commencement of the peace process. Now, there is an open Border. We could very soon have a difficult situation. Has the Minister met the Minister for Finance to discuss this issue? Has she or her officials met Revenue and Customs and Excise to find out what they are doing in terms of scouting possible sites for Border posts? Could she enlighten us about what she has done on that? It is the big fear. Tá an-eagla ar mhuintir na háite mar gheall air sin.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I live five or six miles from the Border. I am very conscious of the issues Brexit will have on the Border area. There is no doubt that issues will arise. There are threats but also opportunities, which is something somebody said to me. On Monday, I spoke to a man who lives very close to the Border. He said we cannot be all negative about this because opportunities will arise as a result of this as well. I am very conscious, as is the Government, of the potential consequences of Brexit in the Border areas. We have emphasised this in our engagement with EU and UK counterparts. That message is well understood. For example, Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator on Brexit, has indicated that border issues - meaning matters that affect our Border with Northern Ireland and Spain's border with Gibraltar - are one of just four key issues to be addressed in the Brexit negotiation. This is an issue that will certainly be addressed in the negotiations. Before the elections in Northern Ireland I spoke to my counterparts, the Ministers, Chris Hazzard and Paul Givan, about issues in my Department regarding Waterways Ireland.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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My question was in the context of the Minister's position as Minister with responsibility for the regions and regional development. Has she met the Minister for Finance to specifically raise with him the issue of the possible return of Border customs posts? It has been suggested there could potentially be five or six major customs points? As the Minister said, she lives close to the Border so she knows the implications of that. If there are approved customs points, many of roads that the Minister and others use will essentially become unapproved for customs purposes. Has she met the Minister for Finance and Revenue and Customs to discuss what they are doing? My question asked the Minister about contingencies. The largest and most difficult contingency facing the Minister - in her ministerial capacity and in her constituency - is the return to a hard Border. Has she met the people who are potentially scoping out areas where there may be customs posts? That is the question. I appreciate the Minister's answer on the other matters but could she tell us about this? As Minister with responsibility for regional affairs and in light of where she lives, I thought she would be very aware of that.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I meet the Minister for Finance at least once a week at the Cabinet meeting. I have raised the issues regarding the Border and Brexit. We want free movement of people. We want to maintain and build on the peace process. We want to support all that was achieved through the Good Friday Agreement and the Fresh Start agreement. We want to have free trade and movement of goods across the Border. It happens every day in a seamless manner. We want to maintain that in so far as we can. As I have mentioned, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has indicated that matters which affect our Border with Northern Ireland comprise one of the four key issues to be addressed in the Brexit negotiations. I am very aware and conscious of the points made by the Deputy.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I regret that the Minister has not discussed them with the Minister for Finance.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I have discussed them.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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What have the Ministers discussed?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I meet him every week at Cabinet meetings.