30 November 2017
By Mary Bermingham
mary@TheCork.ie
Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade Simon Coveney T.D. (Cork South Central) is hosting a number of Brexit Breakfast Briefings in Cork in the coming weeks. The first in the series takes place on Monday, 4 December at the Carrigaline Court Hotel (in how hometown) at 7:30am until 9am. Business owners, retailers and those involved in tourism in the region are invited to attend the free briefing, which will see Minister Coveney providing an update on Brexit negotiations, his insights and also practical ways to begin preparing for Brexit.
“Since I took office in June – as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade with special responsibility for Brexit – I have been keenly aware of the importance of engaging on the topic of Brexit. Through a series of Brexit information events in Cork, I want to share with you the latest news, updates and insights on Brexit, the negotiations, and the impact for you, your families and your work,” said Minister Simon Coveney.
“On Irish issues, the Government’s position and priorities have been clear for a long time. We want to protect the peace process, including by avoiding a hard border on this island. We want to maintain the Common Travel Area with Britain, protect North-South cooperation, and safeguard the EU citizenship and other rights of people in Northern Ireland.
Cork based Simon Coveney has cemented his position as a statesman – and potential future Taoiseach – in his role as Minister for Foreign Affairs
We want a transition phase for Brexit that preserves the status quo in terms of membership of the Single Market and Customs Union and that is as long as is necessary for an orderly Brexit. If this means more than two years is needed for that transition or implementation period – and in my view, that is very likely to be necessary – then longer than two years is what we’ll need. Ireland and the UK have a remarkably close trading relationship with 14% of all our goods and 17% of our services are exported to the UK. At the same time, the UK is the largest source of our imports in goods and the third largest provider of our services. Over 45% of all our food and live animals are exported to the UK. Ireland is the UK’s fifth largest trading partner, ahead even of China.
Brexit will mean change and we need to ensure that the Irish economy, and our businesses, are ready for this change.
The Brexit Breakfast information events are free of charge and all are welcome to attend, however registration is required by emailing simon.coveney@oir.ie or call 021 4374200
