Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I apologise to the Minister for missing the first part of her presentation this morning.

Brexit has been touched on slightly. Regardless of whether we have a hard or soft Border, many of us do not want a Border at all. Certainly, the people of the North voted to remain and it should form the central component in all of our considerations here whether that is negotiating north, south, east and west or with EU colleagues.

I did not quite catch what the Tánaiste said about officials carrying out impact assessments. Did she mean the Department of Justice in the North, the Department of Justice and Equality in the South or both Departments, which would be good? All of the positive cross-Border policing initiatives that she outlined are in jeopardy because of the uncertainty and unknown nature of what is ahead of us. A hard or soft Border would not be particularly advantageous in terms of the well-being of the people across the island.

I do not know if the following issue featured in the Minister's engagements thus far, and I hope it will, as the Taoiseach's national dialogue progresses and her own engagements progress. There are many thousands of Irish citizens whom I presume have the right, under the Good Friday Agreement, to remain Irish citizens post-Brexit and thus EU citizens. Will they be afforded the same rights and entitlements enjoyed by EU citizens even though they live in the North? It is of deep concern to many of us that the British Prime Minister has campaigned strenuously against the Human Rights Act, for example. The Irish Government and successful Governments have refused to introduce a human rights Act for the North despite it being a commitment given in various agreements.

Just as Irish citizens live in the North there are other EU nationals who live in the North or may travel to the North to work in Dungannon, Strabane or Newry. When considering issues under the common travel arrangements we also need to think of the new Irish and migrant workers who live in the South but work in the North. They may be adversely impacted as a result of England's decision to leave the EU.