Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome my colleagues back and I look forward to an excellent 2017 working with them all.

I am disgusted and shocked by reports that staff working at Dublin Airport have been arrested and are being investigated as part of a major immigrant smuggling racket. It is believed that 100 or more people per year have been getting into the country as part of this scam. This alleged exploitation is of great concern to me.It is clear that the authorities in Dublin Airport and the Garda need to examine carefully the alleged failures in security that allowed such exploitation and abuse to slip through the system.

Of further concern is the apparent simplicity of the scam, in that the illegal immigrants were being brought to areas of the airport on arrival and given the necessary clothing to allow them to slip undetected through parts of the airport. In a busy international airport, this must cause alarm bells to ring and security concerns there must be prioritised.

We have a duty to allow the Garda and DPP to investigate the case thoroughly and proceed as they deem fit, but it is incumbent on us to call on the authorities to take any measure necessary to protect the security of our airport and ensure that human beings who are attempting to enter the country illegally are not being exploited. I call on the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to take an active role in this matter so as to ensure that the DAA brings Dublin Airport up to the standard required of an international airport.

With regard to Brexit the most recent Bord Bia report shows that the value of Irish food and drink exports has decreased by €570 million since 23 June 2016 due to the fall in the value or sterling. We all heard the recent speech by Prime Minister May in which she outlined her plans for a hard Brexit. A hard Brexit, with the potential introduction of trade barriers, is a threat to our economy. The decrease in exports shown in the report has been a tangible blow to rural Ireland and the economy as a whole even before a hard Border has been implemented. This shows that we must take a hard Brexit even more seriously and demand again An Taoiseach to appoint a Minister for Brexit before it is too late. Brexit is in the here and now and there is no point in waiting until Britain has decided on physical barriers or otherwise. We have a small economy and we need to protect it.