Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply, which I find encouraging. In fact, I am very pleased with it. The Minister has been engaging since he was appointed Minister, and met with all the players some time ago in a delegation headed up by the mayor of Kerry. There are no politics at play in this. All my Oireachtas colleagues from Kerry, both in the Dáil and Seanad, are at one on this issue. It just happens that on this occasion, we have tried to spearhead the initiative through the Seanad. It might just be the right thing to do. We all know that Britain is going to play Brexit in a way that will get the best deal for the UK. The UK is the priority. We in Ireland are committed to Europe, as the Minister stated. It is important that this project gets over the line. It will be good for Ireland and our security needs and for my area and for jobs. It will also be good for the whole European project to show that we can work out the best possible scenarios after Brexit.