Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Unlike the Leader's good self, I will resist the urge and discuss matters much more significant than those the previous speaker discussed.

As the Leader will know, the cities of Belfast and Derry voted to remain within the EU. In recent months, both of their councils have been working on a comprehensive, impressive and, when one considers the potential economic benefit, important joint bid to be named the EU cities of culture in 2023, a year that is significant for marking the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. The bid, which is a considerable piece of work with a number of high-level endorsements and a significant budget, was put together by members of both councils. Unfortunately, it has transpired that the European Commission will not recognise bids from what it deems to be UK cities after 2019 and the fallout of Brexit.

Here is another tangible disaster, another negative impact of taking the North out of the EU against its will. We are all aware of the negatives. We have rehearsed them in this Chamber and elsewhere for legitimate, genuine and understandable reasons.

The Irish Government, which has been playing an important role in Brexit over recent weeks in particular, has a role to play in championing and supporting the bid from Belfast and Derry cities in the same way that it would for Galway, Dublin or Cork. This is a major opportunity, not least when one considers the cross-Border impact within the context of Derry city and Strabane district.

Through the Leader, I call on the Irish Government, in particular the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, to engage with both councils at chief executive and mayoral levels and to become champions and ambassadors at European Council and Commission levels to ensure that this immediate, unwanted and unfortunately tangible impact of Brexit is offset, the bid prevails and Béal Feirste and Doire are the European cities of culture in 2023.