Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ná bí buartha. Ná bíodh aon imní ort, a Chathaoirligh. Bhí mé chomh lochtach mé fhéin. At the weekend communities along the Border mobilised against the decision taken against their will on Brexit. I have raised this issue consistently in this Chamber. It was impressive and uplifting to see people beyond the realm of politics take to their feet to mobilise in a concerted way against the negative implications of Brexit.It was good, too, to see people from right across the various party political divides represented at the event.

It is critical that we in this House have an opportunity to hear directly, through the mechanism of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, CPP, from members of Border Communities Against Brexit. The campaign group is made up of representatives of the agricultural sector and farming community, the trade union movement, the community and voluntary sector, the small business sector and people involved in all aspects of civic and community life. In that context, it is astounding that today's budget makes absolutely no reference to the communities along the Border and the unique and bespoke support they require, not only because they are facing difficulties as a result of Brexit but because of the generational difficulties they have faced dating back many years. Never mind the Border's failures in the broader political and economic context, it always has been a hindrance and detriment - on a practical level - for people who live along it. With the imposition of Brexit on people in the North, against the will of communities there, we will have a situation where some farmers will not just have parts of their land in both the North and South but also both inside the EU and outside it. The case made at Saturday's rally against taking the North out of the Union was compelling. I am sure the same arguments were replicated at rallies across the Border. I am encouraged that we have had an opportunity to debate this issue extensively and I hope we continue to do so. We should take the opportunity, through the CPP, to hear directly from the lobby group to which I refer.