Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. He is no stranger to the Seanad. I thank him for his hard work over the past few years, much of which has been conducted in London and Belfast.

For some time, we have known Brexit was coming. Yesterday was a very interesting, for want of a better word, day for the UK, as Prime Minister Therese May triggered the formal two-year process of negotiations that will lead to the UK leaving the EU after 44 years. Times have changed since Britain and Ireland joined the European Economic Community in 1973. Our neighbour is now going it alone. The external environment for Ireland is about to radically change. Events such as the Sunningdale Agreement, the Anglo-Irish Agreement, the Good Friday Agreement, the visit of the Queen to the Republic and the visit of our President to the United Kingdom were once unimaginable.

Trade between Ireland and the United Kingdom has been taken for granted. After the Queen's visit here, the British-Irish Chamber of Commerce was formed. It is going extremely well. It is hard to believe that trade with our nearest neighbour and biggest trading partner, where most of the Irish diaspora lived, was once taken for granted. Much more can happen.

In the past, there was no great political understanding between the two countries, and certainly no great goodwill. I know from visits with our colleagues that there is now incredible goodwill across all the parties. However, understanding is not always as good as it could be. It would be helpful to continue to deepen people's understanding of the unique situation of the island of Ireland.

There are very valuable economic and trading ties between Ireland and the UK. The media continue to highlight the possible impact of Brexit on towns and villages. Ireland was the only EU member state specifically mentioned in Prime Minister May's Lancaster House speech, in the UK Government White Paper or in yesterday's Article 50 letter. I thank the House of Lords, which produced a report on Brexit that referred to the difficulties the island of Ireland will face. This is testament to the hard work and influence of the Irish Government. It shows that our plan is working.

Many multinationals and other organisations are seeking to establish European bases outside the UK. There is no doubt Ireland, with modern facilities such as Dublin Airport, is becoming increasingly attractive. As I have highlighted previously, the European Medicines Agencies could relocate to Carrick-on-Shannon, a town the Minister knows quite well. I felt that if Brexit happened, the European Medicines Agency and European Banking Authority could locate in areas like Carrick-on-Shannon, resulting in thousands of jobs. It is encouraging to note that the Central Bank has confirmed that 30 insurance firms have expressed an interest in establishing new bases here. While there are huge issues regarding exporters and cross-Border trade on the island of Ireland, there are also opportunities. We need to protect those opportunities.

The voice of Northern Ireland must be heard. We must be conscious that 56% of people in Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU. The legacy of the past is an issue. We must ensure the Good Friday Agreement is not affected by Brexit.

The UK has been our strong allies in the EU for many years. We are now losing its support within the EU. We have our differences but it was our ally and next door neighbour. We must look for opportunities or areas where we can increase our influence. There are huge opportunities and huge difficulties. Politicians can play a vital role in preserving links to the North, the south, the east and the west by keeping lines of communication open with our colleagues in the EU and the United Kingdom.

I thank the Minister for all his work. He can see that his plan is working and I hope it will work even better in the future.