Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Senator Mulherin has touched on this point in her remarks but there is a total imbalance when it comes to capital development projects being delayed. In my native town, I was chair of the Lough Key Forest Park action group. We secured a development worth about €20 million. However, about five different hotels have been refused planning permission in the past ten or 15 years and now there is no hotel in a region that has a huge tourism facility in Lough Key Forest Park.

One development was refused because the lesser horseshoe bat was found in the cellar of the tower in Lough Key Forest Park. The lesser horseshoe bat has never been seen north of Athlone. If I was trying to stop a major development, all I would have to do is take - forgive me - droppings and place them 15 or 20 miles ahead. That can stop a development worth €100 million. I would love to see the town if we had that development today. We would have a vibrant town and tourism industry. It is an issue and Senator Mulherin was right to bring it up. It is something over which we, as politicians, have no say. However, there is a huge imbalance and it needs to be addressed.

More importantly, last night's vote in the House of Lords was a major setback for Brexit in the UK. The Government was defeated on an amendment to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill 2017-19. The amendment provides that the UK remains in a customs union with the EU. The Government was defeated by 348 to 225. It was probably one of the biggest votes in the House of Lords in recent memory. I want to pay tribute, because sometimes people deride the Upper House of this Parliament. These are people who are ahead of the curve. We saw this with the report of the European Union Committee of the House of Lords on British-Irish and North-South relations. I remember Lord Jay coming to Dublin for the launch. For the first time, it had a statement on the impact on Ireland and it was welcomed. That was more than a year and a half ago.

These things must be welcomed, and I hope that it is a wake-up call to ensure that Brexit does not happen, because Brexit will not just damage the UK. It will damage the island of Ireland and this must be very much welcomed by our House today.