I welcome the main provisions contained in the budget. I welcome the increase in funding for health, social welfare, education and child care services. I look forward to the relevant Minister outlining in detail where increases will be made in the provision of funding for further education. I hope funding has been increased for the Youthreach sector as it provides badly needed educational training for vulnerable young people who have dropped out of school. Education is crucial to their lives and chance of progression in life.

Like my colleague, Senator Niall Ó Donnghaile, I was on the Cavan-Fermanagh border at Aghalane last Saturday. I was joined by my colleague, Deputy Brendan Smith, and Cavan county councillors, John Paul Feeley, Sean Smith and Eugene Greenan, for a community protest to highlight the concerns of the communities on both sides of the Border about what Brexit meant for both counties and the general Border area. There were four other protests that were attended by political parties from north and south of the Border. I am gravely concerned - it is the one major concern I have with the budget - that only €1 million has been allocated to provide extra personnel to deal with the effects of Brexit. Will the Leader of the House engage with the Taoiseach and his Cabinet colleagues as a matter of urgency? The Government must allocate an extra €1 million to tackle this crisis head on. Nobody knows the extent of the crisis, but Border communities have already suffered as a result of the depreciation of sterling. We lived with a border for long enough. At the time people had to travel, through necessity, across the Border to shop because goods were far cheaper in the North because of sterling. The one thing that the protest I attended on Saturday signalled was that the communities on both sides would not tolerate going back to the situation prior to the peace process. That should be noted very clearly.

I wish to make another point and thank the Cathaoirleach for his indulgence. The peaceful protest was led by Fr. McVeigh, a priest from County Fermanagh. People from communities on both sides of the Border, business people, people involved in the agriculture sector, community leaders and others, participated. While the protest lasted, a PSNI helicopter flew over the public meeting.

If that is not incitement, I do not know what is. As we are not returning to it, people should get their act together and deal with it.