Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I read with much joy that the English FA, the Irish FA, the Welsh FA, the Scottish FA and the FAI are looking at bidding for the 2030 World Cup. It would be a five-way bid. This is hugely significant, especially after we were not successful in getting the Rugby World Cup. In 2002, we were looking at the European Championships for the island. This sends out a signal that we are able to work together. Yesterday, I flew from Manchester. Just in front of me, there were officials and I did not realise they were coming to Dublin to discuss this bid. As Parliament, we should give this bid our fullest support because this is cross-border working, on the island of Ireland and between the two islands. I will be attending the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly plenary next week and I intend to raise that we try to get this significant 2030 World Cup for these islands.

There is also Brexit and we must avoid a hard border. There is the Labour Party conference in Liverpool next week and the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham the following week. There is goodwill on both sides. There are open exchanges happening in Salzburg but 18 October is vital. I hope that we will be able to come to some solution but we have to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland. I wish all the negotiators, the Taoiseach and many others, all the best in the coming weeks because this will have a huge influence on what happens on the island of Ireland.