Seanad Committee on Brexit to discuss implications of hard and soft exit

The agenda for the meeting is as follows:

Session A: 10.00 a.m.

Engagement with Central Bank of Ireland [Mr Gabriel Fagan, Chief Economist; Mr Mark Cassidy, Head of Financial Stability; and Ms Mary- Elizabeth McMunn, Head of Risk Division]

Session B: 11.00 a.m.

Engagement with Enterprise Ireland [Mr Kevin Sherry, Executive Director; Ms Anne Lanigan, Brexit Manager; and Mr Garrett Murray, Manager, Policy and Government Relations]

Session C: 12.00 p.m.

Engagement with Industry Representatives [Mr Arnold Dillon, Brexit Campaign Lead and Mr Gerard Brady, Economist, Ibec; Ms Patricia Callan, Director, Small Firms Association; and Mr Ciaran Fitzgerald, Agri-Food Economist, Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland (ABFI); Mr Kevin Thompson, Insurance Ireland, Mr John McGrane, Director General of the British-Irish Chamber of Commerce]

Session D: 2.30 p.m.

Engagement with the Bar of Ireland [Mr Paul McGarry SC, Chairman of the Bar of Ireland and Chairman of the Working Group on Brexit, and Mr Patrick Leonard SC]

Committee Chairman, Senator Neale Richmond, said: “There are a multitude of possible post-EU arrangements for the UK once they depart the union. Much of the conversation around these arrangements has been dominated by discussion of what form the UK exit will take and whether that will be ‘hard or soft.’ While there is no strict definition of either, a hard Brexit is understood to involve a complete withdrawal in which Britain would leave the Single Market and resume full control over immigration. A soft Brexit is understood as anything less than a full withdrawal.”

“Our meeting tomorrow will see the Committee hear from a variety of stakeholders, who can give unique insight into the true economic implications of a hard or soft Brexit, as well as help us to formulate solutions as to how to mitigate the negative effects, regardless of what form Brexit takes on the island of Ireland.”

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