Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Coming from the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly plenary over the last two days, the Brexit issue is of huge importance to this country, the UK and to Europe. I am disappointed that an all-Ireland forum has not been set up both North and South to address the implications of this serious issue. It has gone unnoticed in this Chamber, but the North-South Interparliamentary Association has met in this Chamber every six months for the last three years. Many issues have been discussed, including cross-border tourism and infrastructure. It has gone unnoticed.

There have been politicians of different hues in this Chamber and from different parties in Stormont involved. After the most important decision that could affect this country in the last 50 years, we really need to look at it from a cross-border, all-Ireland basis. I call on the Minister to come into the House to explain what exactly is being done and what can be done. In the last five years, our country has been at the heart of Europe and we can do a lot. However, we cannot do things in silos when dealing with Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the island of Ireland, the UK and Europe. We need an all-Ireland approach. I ask the Minister to come into the House to try to see if we could have all-Ireland co-operation on this very important matter.