Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and congratulate her on a very important appointment at a crucial point in the history of our country. I wish her well in the role and I know that the Taoiseach would not have made this appointment lightly. I also thank and pay tribute to my colleague, Senator Richmond, for his chairmanship of the Special Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, which he carried out with great professionalism. I was proud to be one of three Fine Gael members on that committee. Along with all of the other members, we worked extremely hard. It was a good committee and the work was well done. The gravity of the issues concerned and of the impact on the country was not lost on any of us and this affected our approach to the committee and our attendance at it.

I represent the Border community of Cavan-Monaghan, which stands to be particularly adversely affected by Brexit. Every day an estimated 30,000 journeys are made between the North and the South for reasons of work, school, hospital appointments, or kinship. There are many reasons people travel up and down across the Border. Agricultural produce is sourced by processors on either side of the Border. Where I live in Bailieborough, for example, Lakeland Dairies processes milk sourced in Northern Ireland. One finds this right across the area. Pigs travel from the South to be processed in the North and vice versa. There is a lot of interplay and business connection across the Border, with many people travelling for business.

There is also a lot of farming across the Border. Overall, the sector most vulnerable to Brexit is agriculture because of the level of agricultural exports to the United Kingdom. That sector is so important for jobs, be they on or off the farm, and is effectively the main employer in the area. Therefore, this is a crucial debate for my area and it is crucial that we get the right outcome. There are two elements to this outcome. The first thing that is needed is the maintenance of the common travel area and all that goes with it. People need to be able to travel across the Border uninterrupted and in a normal, seamless fashion. This needs to be maintained, North and South and east and west. There is great confidence at this stage that we will achieve that, and let us hope that this confidence is well-founded. This is the first leg of the operation.

In that context, I add that one of the great achievements of this Government is that it has created in Europe an acceptance and understanding of the Irish position and a willingness to prioritise it. As a member of the main Government party, I am particularly proud of this. I recently had the privilege of leading the Irish delegation to the Council of Europe and when I met people from right across the continent I could recognise that there is a very high consciousness of our domestic position here. That is a great achievement and one that the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, will no doubt build upon and maintain.

The first important element is, as I said, the maintenance of the common travel area and the seamless Border. What is also important, however, is the customs area. We need to maintain a free trade situation and avoid the imposition of customs duties. This is slightly more problematic. We need to resolve this and to preserve the unique position of Ireland, North and South and across to the UK. Let us hope that a free trade arrangement can be made between the UK and EU, much like the Norwegian model. If we do not achieve this there will have to be a relaxation of fiscal and competition rules within the EU so as to give special support right across the country, but particularly to Border areas such as my own. Areas like Cavan-Monaghan will need special support for indigenous industry and processing and so forth to be able to maintain jobs in a hard Brexit situation. Let us pray that that does not arise. If it does, however, we will need the necessary supports and relaxation of rules.

Our main objective is to maintain the status quoto the greatest possible degree. The shifting political sands in Britain may also help. If we do not succeed in maintaining this status quo, let us hope that we get support from Europe in this very important area. I am interested in hearing the opinion of the Minister of State on that specific issue of European support in the event of a hard Brexit.