Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I compliment Senator Chambers and the committee. They have been working on the report in a very productive and united manner. I pay tribute to the Minister of State on his work and, of course, that of the Taoiseach. All Senators know the difficulties and troubles that have been created for Irish farms and agribusinesses, as well as for many other sectors but we should not forget that Ireland has done very well out of the Brexit fund. The fund of €1 billion is really important for the future of those businesses and the agri-sector in terms of the supports to get them through this.

Like other speakers, I wish to again encourage businesspeople and others North of the Border who know the reality of what needs to happen here to accept that and move forward. The hand of friendship is extended to assist unionists, in particular, because they have issues with this. I have previously put on the record of the House the need to assist and support those people because we have to move froward as an island in this regard.

Brexit has been an absolute disaster. We have to reconsider matters in the context of the fear that still exists in the agri-sector, in particular. In my county and the adjoining counties of Galway and Mayo, many family agrifood businesses have been set up in recent years, each providing ten, 15, 20 or 30 jobs. Those businesses will acknowledge the support of the Government and the Brexit fund but the reality is that they are in constant fear and always looking over their shoulder to see where this will go. We are by no means out of the woods yet in terms of there being a smooth path forward. We do not have that. There is a significant amount of work to be done.

That said, an extraordinary amount of work is being done in the Seanad by the committee that is dealing with it and its Chairman. Much of the work is being done behind the scenes, which is very important in the context of this issue. Kite-flying or wild statements on this matter are not helpful in any way. We must all work closely together as politicians in the South to ensure we bring people in the North with us on this matter because it is a massive threat to the whole economy, North and South. That said, the procedures on which we are currently engaged and the fact we have the Brexit fund and are working together as a group are very clear statements that we can make progress and move in the right direction.

Let there be no doubt in anybody's mind that the threat still exists. It affects rural and urban Ireland, but in my county, the west midlands and the Border counties, the fear is always there in the farming and small business sectors. There is no doubt that Brexit has created difficulties for some of those businesses. They appreciate the way we are working here. That is the message I get at my constituency clinics, particularly from small businesses. They accept that the matter is being well handled South of the Border.

I again make the point that the hand of friendship has been extended to people North of the Border, particularly the unionist population which has difficulties with this. Unionist businesspeople always did business with people from the South of Ireland. Whether it was farming business, enterprise or whatever, they always did it and they know the realities of business. It might not take too much to bring them back to reality on this issue. Of course, the British Government is a major difficulty in all of this, as Members are aware.