Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I bid Ms Mizzi a céad míle fáilte, a hundred thousand welcomes. Like other speakers I wish her every success in Malta’s Presidency of the EU for the first six months of 2017.

We have had a number of guest speakers coming before the committee and prior to the Brexit vote some of us met with several British politicians who were for and against the issue. Many of the politicians we have met are clearly of the understanding that the UK will get a very good deal from Brexit. There is almost arrogance among some individuals who feel the world cannot do without the UK and that things would collapse without British involvement. Former senior British Cabinet members still have a certain view of their country's place in the world. Ms Mizzi indicated in her speech that the situation of the UK would not be better post-Brexit. The position many countries in Europe are adopting is that the post-Brexit situation will not be a good thing for the people of the UK.

The biggest priority from our perspective is that there would not be a huge negative impact on the island of Ireland. We see it as a disaster for the Irish people which might compound the divisions on the island of Ireland and impact on the Good Friday Agreement. It will create uncertainty, fear and division and we are already seeing the outworkings of that.

Michel Barnier, the EU negotiator, said he has an understanding of the Irish situation because of his background as European Commissioner for Regional Policy at one stage and that he knows the unique circumstances of Ireland. We share jurisdiction of a disputed border with the UK and Brexit could impact and cause difficulty in that regard.

Many of us are concerned about the impact of Brexit on people. Any British withdrawal from membership of the EU implies huge challenges for the entire island. Is the Government of Malta aware of the unique position of Ireland and the potential effect of Brexit on us compared to any other EU country? Witnesses have come before the committee and spoken of the huge sympathy for Ireland in regard to Brexit. Could Ms Mizzi expand on what such sympathy means? We want to examine all options to allow the North to remain within the EU. We will launch a policy document tomorrow on that issue.

Is there support in Malta for recognising Ireland’s unique position? Ms Mizzi is no doubt aware the EU proved itself capable of accommodating unique circumstances in respect of Cyprus and Greenland. Denmark is an EU member state yet Greenland is outside the jurisdiction of the Union but it still receives European funding. The EU also became an active persuader for the reunification of Germany.

Malta's neighbour, Cyprus, in the event of reunification will be fully integrated into the EU. Seats in the EU Parliament are allocated on the basis of the entire population of Cyprus. Does Ms Mizzi believe that such flexibility could be shown to Ireland given the inherent right of those born on the island of Ireland to Irish citizenship or British citizenship and by virtue of that right they are citizens of the European Union as well? Would the Maltese Government be open to such a proposal?

Given the threat to the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process we believe there is a duty on all member states, but in particular the Irish Government as a member state of the European Union and a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement to support and safeguard the political constitution and legal integrity of the Agreement. The EU has played a positive role in the peace process, especially with funding for reconciliation projects. Does Ms Mizzi believe such positive political support will continue in the future?