Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As Chairman of the Good Friday Agreement implementation committee here in the Oireachtas, I warmly welcome the reset of relations between Britain and Ireland and, in particular, the Taoiseach's immediate engagement with the British Prime Minister on how fruitful, I hope, their meeting next week will be. I also welcome Hilary Benn's appointment as the Northern Ireland secretary. He has been a frequent visitor to this House and we, Members of the Oireachtas, have met him in the United Kingdom Parliament as well. His appointment augurs well. Coming from a Border constituency, I know that the huge impact the peace process has had on our areas has been absolutely fantastic. We have grown our economies and grown closer together. Brexit, unfortunately, has been a spanner in the works in that respect, and I wish the Taoiseach's discussions the best outcome possible. The improvement in North-South relationships is hugely important, particular in Border counties.

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