Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O'Dowd and Senators Feighan and Black for their questions and comments. With regard to Deputy O'Dowd's comments about the potential nature or level of any tariffs, the discussion and negotiation has not commenced yet. If we look at how long it took to reach agreement in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, TTIP, negotiations, or the nature of the agreement between the European Union and Canada, it took years of negotiations before they reached the ratification stage. We have not even reached the starting point of that process with regards to Brexit. We are very clear that we want the current trading relationship between the United Kingdom and Ireland to be as close to current circumstances as possible. That is the approach that we will use and the objective that we will have entering those negotiations. It is important to acknowledge that the British Government is very clear about its relationship with the Single Market. It wants to leave; it will be out of it. They have left space regarding what their relationship with the customs union will be in the future. That is an important area within which we would have to negotiate a trading arrangement that best suits the needs of the Irish economy.

Deputy O'Dowd and Deputy Smith made the point to me - and I did not acknowledge this with Deputy Smith earlier - about the capital needs of the north west of our country and the Border counties. I am very much aware of that. It takes on a new significance in the context of Brexit. It will feature in the review of the capital plan now under way and which I aim to conclude in the second half of this year.

Senator Feighan made the point about losing an ally. I would not understate the importance of that point. It is a fact that in many negotiations that took place in meetings of ministerial councils that the country to which we were most closely aligned in many policy areas was the United Kingdom. An example of that would be when I was Minister for transport and discussing aviation, an area which is absolutely crucial to the development of the Irish economy and to access in a changing world. Frequently the country which was the nearest to sharing our views was the United Kingdom. Its departure will mean that in a whole breadth of areas, from the digital economy to agriculture to security and foreign policy, we will now need to develop new allies, depending on the policy area. That is one of the reasons we will be supporting the office of the permanent representative in Brussels to make sure that we have the resources in place to do this work in the future. It will take more effort, more work and more contact to guide negotiations to places that meet our national interest.

Comments were made regarding a hard border, with which I agree. We see Ireland's future within the European Union and the eurozone.

I thank Senator Black for her contribution. Any time I visit any of our Border counties I hear very clearly from concerned citizens there about economic stability and their freedoms in the future, given what is happening with Brexit. I am well aware of that. I agree with the Senator that we cannot see a return to a hard border because of the destabilising effects that it would have on the North and indeed all parts of our island.

As for the Senator's specific questions concerning the status of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the answer is that it would definitely help in delivering the agenda I have outlined if we have functional, stable institutions in Northern Ireland. In delivering the agenda I have spoken about in terms of making sure that the agreements that are in place up to 2020 translate into activity on the ground, it will be absolutely vital that we have functioning institutions in the North. We have to have Ministers and civil servants in the Northern Ireland Administration who we can pick up the phone to and with whom we can co-operate to make sure these agreements happen. That is one of the many reasons I hope that we see the resumption of the political institutions after the Assembly elections which are taking place at the moment.

I believe that any issues regarding equality and people feeling that they are being treated respectfully and fairly should be dealt with. To borrow a phrase from another setting in terms of the politics of Northern Ireland, parity of esteem is vital. Each community has parts of our heritage that are important to them and they must be treated with respect. I hope we will see further progress on that in the coming years.

The Irish Government does not want to see anybody treated as a second class citizen in Northern Ireland. It is our ability to move away from that environment, in which all political parties here and in the North have taken risks and have played a role, to get to a point where that does not happen and we do not have to use that kind of language or to have people asking me these kinds of questions. That is what we have to hold on to. Brexit will make all this more challenging but we must rise to the occasion. I submit to the committee that the progress we have made in clarifying where these programmes stand within just over four months is evidence of our ambition to so do.