9. Will the First Minister make a statement on trade between Wales and Ireland? OAQ(4)0204(FM)[W]

Ireland is our fourth largest export market, with Welsh exports to Ireland worth just over £1 billion in 2015.

In my Constituency of Anglesey, the question of borders with Ireland is one of the most crucial questions in terms of the debate on leaving the European Union. If a border is to be placed around the isle of Ireland, as is suggested—and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has said that he wants to strengthen border controls in the ports and airports of Ireland—then what’s the First Minister’s assessment of the likely impact of that on the most important crossing point in terms of trade between Britain and Ireland, and that’s in my constituency, the port of Holyhead?

There are a number of problems. I actually alluded to this before the vote. Nobody wants to see a hard border between Northern Ireland and the republic, but nobody at present knows how that can be avoided. If some kind of system was put in place where you had to show your passport to fly from Belfast to Glasgow or Belfast to Cardiff, the unionists, or the DUP and the UUP, would be completely against it. They’ve said that they wouldn’t wish to see a system where you had to show a passport to travel, as they would see it, from one part of the United Kingdom to another. If that does become the position, I don’t see what will take place in Holyhead, Pembroke Dock or Fishguard, because there would be different immigration policies in the republic and in the UK. So, I can’t see what kind of system they can have, unless it is one where you have to show a passport. Nobody wants to see it happening, but no-one has come up with a way to solve this problem. It won’t be of benefit to the residents of Ynys Môn or Holyhead.

Thank you, First Minister.