The Government is trying to manage many serious challenges on many fronts, some with little success and others with none. Housing remains a national crisis which is worsening by the day rather than improving.

For the past 22 days, a bus strike has impeded people across the country and has had a detrimental impact on local and regional economies. A report yesterday confirmed that businesses across Cork lost up to €20 million in this period. Provincial towns such as Athlone, Mullingar, Thurles, Sligo and so on have felt the pinch. Businesses there have been down by approximately 20%. Retail Excellence Ireland, REI, predicted this morning that there will be job closures as a result of this strike. All of these losses and the strike itself could have been avoided if the Government had acted when it became aware of the financial difficulties facing Bus Éireann over a year ago.

Banks are pulling out of towns across the country. There is a threat of 250 post office closures. The lack of broadband delivery will leave half a million people waiting until 2023 for a service. These issues sum up and justify how rural Ireland feels neglected by the Government.

Worryingly, the chairman of Dairygold was quoted in today's edition of the Irish Independent as stating that if Brexit leads to customs and tariff controls, there will be decimation in rural Ireland with the cheese, beef, dairy, mushroom and drinks industry being seriously hit. If introduced, the World Trade Organization, WTO, tariffs on cheese will be €1,671 per tonne. The CEO of Dairygold said that this would be an appalling and frightening vista.

The negotiations on Article 50 start at the end of this month. Whatever emerges from the negotiations, Ireland will need a major programme to aid those who are worst hit. The agrifood sector is critical to our economy and will be the sector worst hit. The UK is already funding their businesses to protect supply chains and Ireland needs to do the same.

Can the Tánaiste confirm that the Government is requesting assistance from the EU? Does the Government have a plan for the agrifood sector, which employs tens of thousands of people across the length and breadth of the country?

Let me give another perspective to what Deputy Troy has said. The Irish economy continues to grow strongly. Growth is broadly based across the country and employment continues to grow in all sectors. Earlier this week, the Government published our draft stability programme update and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, will present that document to the Select Committee on Budgetary Oversight at 2 p.m. today.

Everyone is aware of the uncertainties on which the Deputy has commented but despite those external uncertainties, the growth forecast for 2017 has been upgraded to 4.3%, having grown at 5.2% last year. These are not just statistics. They have an impact on families' lives because the figures indicate that people are now working. Our debt position continues to improve. The rate of unemployment has dropped from a high of over 15% when Fine Gael returned to power in 2011 to 6.5% today. That means something to individuals and families. It has an impact on the quality of their lives. It means there are opportunities. We are able to continue to invest in the services people need because we have a growing economy. When Fianna Fáil was in government, all investment stopped. Unemployment was growing, the economy was in freefall and we had lost our sovereignty. All of that has now changed. That is the broader context, notwithstanding the challenges the Deputy points to in regard to Brexit and the changing economic situation.

There has already been a discussion in the House this morning regarding Brexit. The Government has a clear plan. The priorities of the Irish Government have been reflected in the draft paper which was published. There are certain sectors which will be particularly affected, including the enormous challenges which Brexit presents for the entire Irish agrifood sector. Negotiations are yet to begin but the Government will take a most robust approach to protecting vulnerable sectors. It has been recognised in what has been published to date that there is a special case and situation in regard to Ireland which must be considered in the negotiations. For example, in 2016, Irish agrifood exports to the UK came to €4.8 billion or 39% of the total agrifood exports. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, and his officials are working on these issues. They are looking at the potential impact of the UK vote, the areas where the greatest risks may arise and the areas on which we will need to focus once negotiations begin. As I have said, the negotiations have not yet begun but the preparatory work has been done. The priority for Ireland is protecting our economy, including the very valuable agrifood sector.

It is typical of the Government that the Tánaiste comes into the House and tries to take credit for every positive event over the past number of years. The Tánaiste has ignored the favourable international conditions from which the Government benefitted, the sacrifices made by men and women over the past number of years and the business people who are creating employment the length and breadth of this country with little help from the Government. We are still waiting for the Government to take corrective action on the issue of commercial rates, which has faced businesses in recent years. The Tánaiste chose to ignore the issues I raised about post offices, bank closures and the strike at Bus Éireann. It is not funny. It is not funny for the people in rural Ireland who rely on these services day in, day out.

I ask the Tánaiste a specific question about an EU stabilisation fund. Will Ireland be able to benefit from that? Will the agrifood sector, which generates tens of thousands of jobs but will be detrimentally affected by Brexit, be able to apply for that funding in the not too distant future?

All the points I raised relating to increasing employment in this situation impact on rural Ireland as well. The Labour Court is expected to make a recommendation today, and we want to see our transport services in place again as soon as possible. The approach the Government has adopted to this is that we want to see a resolution while encouraging all parties to be part of that.

The issue of post offices was discussed in detail here yesterday. The Government is taking a range of actions and initiatives, including on banking, in post offices that I hope will ensure that they will remain open in rural areas across the country.

As the negotiations develop, it is essential that the vulnerability of particular sectors will form a key part of those negotiations. From an agrifood perspective and given the importance of the United Kingdom, UK, market for the sector, our demand will be for continued free access to the UK market without tariffs and with minimal additional customs and administrative procedures and to keep the UK market viable for Irish producers by minimising the risk for many UK trade agreements. That is clearly the approach we will be taking and in that context we will be discussing the very point Deputy Troy raised.