How will Brexit affect Northern Ireland? Lords to ask James Brokenshire
The House of Lords EU Select Committee will next week take evidence from the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, as part of its inquiry into the effect of Brexit on UK-Irish relations.
The Committee will also hear from Robin Walker MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Exiting the EU.
The evidence session will start at 16:00 on Tuesday 11 October in Committee Room 3 of the House of Lords.
Areas the session will cover include:
- How will the Government ensure Northern Ireland's voice is heard in the Brexit process?
- How will the Government ensure there is no return to a ‘hard border' between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland? Might there be an increase in smuggling and illegal cross-border movement?
- What will be the impact of Brexit on the Common Travel Area, and on the status of UK and Irish citizens living in each other's countries?
- How will the agri-food sector in Northern Ireland be supported post Brexit? How will the Government avoid the potentially high tariffs that could be imposed on agricultural trade between North and South if the UK is not part of an EU Customs Union?
- What concerns does Brexit raise for the peace process in Northern Ireland? Could Brexit risk undermining the Good Friday Agreement?
The House of Lords EU Committee and its six Sub-Committees are conducting a coordinated series of short inquiries looking at the key issues that will arise in the forthcoming negotiations on Brexit. Taken as a whole, this programme of work will be the most extensive and thorough parliamentary scrutiny of Brexit.
