Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. This subject is very close to my heart as I have many family members who live in the North. We were all greatly surprised and shocked by the result of the Brexit referendum and are still coming to terms with the possible implications of this decision.

The setting up of a hard border between the North and South would be a huge setback to the progress made since 1998. Brexit poses a major challenge to this country. The economic effect of a hard border and the continuous decline in the value of sterling will have a massive impact on our competitiveness.

Let me break up this issue into a few topics, the first being the food and drink sector. An IBEC report states that were sterling to weaken to the 90p mark against the euro, it would result in losses of more than €700 million in food exports and of approximately 7,500 jobs, which is considerable. Exporters need Government assistance to help with these currency losses as the exchange rate is now extremely close to 90p to the euro.

Senator James Reilly spoke about tourism. We all know the tourism sector is one of Ireland's most important sectors economically. It has significant potential to play a further role in Ireland's economic renewal. In 2015, tourism was responsible for overseas earnings of €4.2 billion. Tourism also shapes Ireland's image and attractiveness as a place to live, work and invest. The UK market accounts for approximately 40% of visitors and any weakening of sterling could be devastating for the tourism industry. There were 3.55 million visitors to Ireland from Great Britain in 2015. There probably have been many more this year because of the 2016 centenary celebrations. British visitors accounted for €995 million in direct expenditure during their trips to Ireland in 2015. There are over 205,000 jobs in Ireland's tourism and hospitality sector, which supports one in every nine jobs in Ireland. The tourism sector accounts for one in four of all new jobs created in the State in the past five years. There is potential to create more than 40,000 additional jobs by 2021. Tourism accounts for 4% of GNP and generates more than €1.8 billion in taxes annually. Some of the lowest-paid people are working in the hospitality sector and the prospect of a decline in this industry should not be used to decrease their wages again.

Farming is one of the topics I am interested in because all my family in the North are farmers. Negotiations between the European Union and United Kingdom surrounding the latter's decision to leave the Union must take into consideration the links between the farming industries on both sides of the Border. In a statement made after a meeting between the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, and the Ulster Farmers Union, the IFA deputy president, Mr. Richard Kennedy, said that maintaining a strong trading relationship between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland is of critical importance to the economy. The Common Agricultural Policy accounts for over 80% of farm income in the North. Following the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union, this money no longer will be available and it is not at all certain that the UK Government will replace this funding. This would lead to a crisis in the agriculture sector.

The people living in the Border regions will feel the impact of Brexit most. It would be unthinkable to have one part of this island operating within the European Union and another outside it but that is exactly what the British Government is proposing. It is vital that the wishes of the people in the North, the majority of whom voted to remain in the European Union, be taken into consideration in any further negotiations. It is possible that Brexit goes against the Good Friday Agreement. My concern is that the wishes of the overwhelming majority of the people on this island will be ignored.