Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. It has been a comprehensive discussion so far, I say respectfully, because, through no fault of his own, the Minister has told us a whole lot without really telling us anything. I suppose that is the nature of the climate we are operating in post Brexit. When the British Government does not know what it is doing, I do not expect the Minister to be able to come in here and deal with some of the issues that have been put to him.

As a committee, our remit is to look at the implementation of the Agreement and for me, as well as the obvious and consistent concern that has been raised here about the Border, there are a number of other fairly fundamental issues. Some members have touched on the European funding and no doubt we will have a discussion with the Minister, Mr. Ó Muilleoir MLA, about that, but nothing will convince me that any British Government will reimburse or replace the moneys that we receive from the EU, whether it is for peace initiatives, infrastructure, agriculture or whatever, particularly at a time when the British Government has already cut £4 million out of the block grant. We are in danger of being removed from the human rights protections that are afforded to us under membership of the EU against our will.

We are being left marooned by a Government that refuses to introduce the UK Human Rights Act in the North and, in the context of some of the earlier remarks, that is currently using national security as a veto in terms of some of the legacy issues we face. Furthermore, on a point of particular importance to me, the only protections afforded to the Irish-speaking community in the North in the absence of the Act are those of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

As the Minister is aware, 56% of people have voted to remain in the EU and an even higher percentage of individuals throughout the country voted for the Good Friday Agreement. There is a danger of us being marooned by a decision taken by England and Wales. We need to get to a point where the Minister is better informed in terms of the broader experience throughout the country. Two court cases are currently under way in the North challenging this decision. Next weekend, business leaders, those from the community sector and others are organising and mobilising around the Border communities against this decision.

I thank the Minister for what has been a comprehensive discussion. I believe we need to get to a position where the Minister is able to come to us. More important, in terms of the negotiation that will take place at EU level, he should be acutely aware of the dangerous subversion of the Good Friday Agreement and its institutions that the vote taken in England represents.

I will conclude on this point. One of the opening remarks made by the Minister related to seeking to protect the institutions such as the North-South Ministerial Council, etc. However, the decision in respect of the Border could be taken elsewhere by the European member states. This already presents an obvious contradiction. Paramount in terms of our role is protecting the legitimacy and primacy of the Agreement. It is very positive that the Minister acknowledges the need for a national discussion and forum to outline some of the issues. I hope we will have the opportunity at institutions such as this and others to tease out these issues.