Brendan Smith praises cross-border projects, urges protocol fixes

Could I just like to welcome you all here and welcome your presentations and indeed it was very progressive and forward thinking of the members who established the Crosswater Group in 1976 and we can all envisage how difficult things were politically on this island and on an east-west basis as well and I just note the remarks of your chair Michelle and the vice chair Robert in regard to the need for greater collaboration, greater knowledge particularly by the politicians in Britain in regard to the Northern Ireland situation and I recall when the whole Brexit issue arose at the time I was chairing the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Rottas and the first visit of a parliamentary delegation from Britain was the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons that visited Kevin Monaghan at my invitation so subsequently and Deputy O'Dowd would have been involved in bringing groups to his constituency I have to say that parliamentary groups from practically every member state of the European Union were very generous with their time in coming here in coming here meeting their counterpart European affairs committee and actually going to the border regions and learning for themselves and I walked the border roads in my own Cavan Monaghan areas that I know as well so often with different groups but they came here on the basis of wanting to familiarise themselves with what our representatives were saying at the European Union meetings and then they were going back to their own parliament and supporting the proposals that the proposals that our government were putting forward and our representatives in the European Parliament as well so great credit is due to parliamentary groups from many many member states individual commissioners and MEPs as well and now in fairness quite a number of the committees of the British House of Commons and House of Lords came here subsequently and had good engagement with different committees but I think it was a great learning exercise but I think it needs to be done on a constant basis as well and the the chairman of the chairman of our committee Ferbis facilitated a meeting for this committee yesterday with the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee of the House of Commons and we discussed current issues and as Robert referred to naturally Brexit arose and Senator Curry and myself there was all political opinion was present at that meeting from the House of Commons and from the Oireachtas here as well and there was a clear message that we need to get consensus we need to get the outstanding issues in regard to the protocol we need to get them resolved and I can assure the vice chair Robert that the government here and all political opinion in the Oireachtas are very very anxious to get a resolution to the issues to the issues that some of the outstanding issues there and the I had questions to Antisha yesterday evening about Brexit and he emphasized again that we are working closely with the European Union to try to ensure that the issue is resolved and got off the table it's not in anybody's interest to have obstacles to trade so it's not it's not in the interest of any part of this island or Britain but there is a there is absolute positivity positivity and a willingness I think on the part of the European Union particularly on the part of the Irish government to have those issues desperate and I think when we would have discussed here in the past and I think when we would have discussed here in the past we wouldn't have thought that we would have seen such good progress thankfully with the projects that you mentioned in your introduction Darrell Waterbridge I think in 2019 we were probably discussing when would it ever happen we didn't think that we would have had Minister Darrell O'Brien and Minister Nicola Mallon at the site announcing very very substantial funding to get that project moved along and that's very welcome so it is similarly from my own area with the Ulster Canal I want to see that progress and it is being being carried out on an incremental basis and it's so important to have flagship projects and I think when you're any cross-border grouping and the good work that you do a lot of it that's unseen by the public at large unseen by a lot of elected opinion as elected people in elected office as well as the it's great to be able to point to some flagship projects that you promote and facilitate and look at as we go forward we have especially you progress body here last week Jeanne McIntyre and our colleagues and the peace she stated that peace plus would be open for applications by summer of this year now Minister Michael McGrath in different responding to questions that the daughter's emphasised I think we are going to be able to do as quickly as possible the shared island has very substantial funding available the there's a specific chapter on cross-border all Ireland development in our national development plan and there's very very significant funding provided in that plan for cross-border projects so I believe that you're looking at a time when yourselves and your sister organisations in the past in the past we could only dream about getting moved on but these things don't happen too quickly and I know very well a huge amount of work is done by yourselves in progressing the project so it is so from that point of view naturally we want to support whatever and I take the point where you make about programmes end and you don't know where you're going next year the rollover effect and it's actually it's changed a bit here in more recent years budgeting for government departments was on an annual basis which was a bit there wasn't as much multi-annual budgeting and planning as there is nowadays and it was very difficult to plan projects etc when you're working when there was no certainty in regard to future but I just want to compliment you on the work and it was great vision and foresight of the public representatives and the officials supporting them who put these for the region and in place in the beginning and I know that you've been associated with many good projects over the years and perhaps the whole area of tourism I presume remote working the digital economy I presume there are areas that you're laying particular emphasis on and I'm thinking of an area like Monaghan that might be peripheral to most of your your cross border region I'd want to ensure that it's not left out in any any of the the projects going forward and I'd add my voice to my good strong Monaghan colleagues in advocating both at official council level and the public representatives as well so thank you I look at your league Margaret just two minutes left in the slot are you happy with everything he said I just respond in respect of Monaghan um no the elected members there will not let us leave Monaghan out they're very very the officials either in fairness are the officials either no no um no we we need to all our work we need to impact um across the whole region um you know some of the projects will impact maybe only in two uh council areas or whatever we're focusing now on a major coastal program which obviously is only the um areas along the coast but um no we we need to and if we're not delivering for a part of the region it doesn't work so again that's a challenge for us that that we have to but we've always said it's about cross border um economic development which benefits the people of our region so that's that's our mantra and that's what what our politicians support as well