Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, his officials and the diplomatic corps for attending. He is responsible for European affairs, data protection and the EU single data market. I thank him for attending these briefings on a regular basis. He is a direct conduit for this committee and is our line Minister as he keeps members fully briefed on current events. Is it true that Spain has a veto on the future of Gibraltar? Roughly 30,000 people live on the peninsula of Gibraltar that is located at the tip of Spain. Ireland did not negotiate a veto on Brexit and negotiations even though we have a 499 km Border with the United Kingdom that also acts as a border with the European Union and the United Kingdom.

Ireland will be the greatest loser in the Brexit negotiations because €1.2 billion worth of trade is done on a weekly basis between the United Kingdom and Ireland. Why did Ireland not demand a veto? Surely the situation cannot be decided by a simple majority of the 27 countries. They cannot decide to damage our economy, destroy our jobs and destroy our exports to the United Kingdom. We must take whatever action is required before agreement is reached. We must let Europe know that Ireland will not stand idly by. We must take this matter very seriously. Ireland should demand a veto and, if not, we must filibuster. As far as I am concerned, there can be no agreement without agreement by the Irish Government and Irish people. If this matter must be decided by a referendum then so be it. If that is the ultimate decision then let that be the case. If this matter must go to the people then so be it because I trust their judgment on a negotiated deal. If the deal is not up to standard then Ireland must reconsider its position. A hard border will destroy the beef trade and farming in Ireland. I wish to put down a marker that Ireland must be at its toughest. The current negotiations will be tougher than the ones that took place for the Good Friday Agreement and the Downing Street negotiations in the 1920s. Brexit is a do-or-die situation for the Irish people.