Cross-Border Co-operation
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-22
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Rose Conway-Walsh (SF), Mayo

I am asking the Minister for a timeline for when the recommendations in the report will be implemented. The report rightly addresses the barriers preventing workers and employers from taking full advantage of the all-island labour market. Both organisations involved called for urgent action on hybrid working and taxation and immigration arrangements, including the establishment of the forum, as the Minister said, to develop solutions.
Brexit has led to significant issues for workers in the Six Counties and the wider Border region. The North voted to remain in the EU in 2016, yet, ten years on, we are still dealing with the consequences of that disastrous vote. Eighteen thousand workers face significant obstacles navigating the Border on a daily basis. Cross-Border trade amounts to €17 billion annually, but the potential for growth is restricted by the availability of labour. Forty-two per cent of IBEC-CBI members sampled said that mobility barriers are making it harder to fill those skill gaps. We need urgency on this.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-22