Ms Noelle O'Connell:

I thank the committee very much for its invitation to attend today's proceedings to discuss the impact of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union and the future of Europe. I am executive director of European Movement Ireland. Founded in 1954, European Movement Ireland is Ireland's longest established not-for-profit voluntary membership organisation dedicated solely to Irish European issues.

I congratulate this Seanad special select committee on the really high level of engagement on such a critical and complex issue. I have been following the debate closely, and European Movement Ireland, as an organisation, has had a presence in the Public Gallery at most of the committee's sessions. The Seanad is to be commended on having the foresight to set up such an initiative and on its endeavours to seek solutions to the many multifaceted challenges Brexit will create, not least on this island of Ireland. As we sit here today on 1 June, there are now 666 days left in which to complete a deal. To tweak the well-known phrase, the devil of these Brexit negotiations will be in the detail.

Sometimes it is hard to understand the sheer scale of Brexit, but the evidence this committee has heard has enriched the debate on the subject. In addressing issues from citizenship rights in Northern Ireland to the potential impact of Brexit on the aviation industry and the air bridge between Ireland and Britain, this committee has helped to advance the dialogue and understanding of how Brexit will have implications for the island of Ireland.

The future of Europe, on which I have been invited to speak today, is in itself no small topic. Like Brexit, the future of Europe is a deeply multilayered topic associated with many opportunities and complexities concerning its development and discussion.

I commend the efforts of the Irish diplomatic and political services and various channels in ensuring the unique circumstances on the island of Ireland have been prioritised in the European Union's formal negotiating position at the start of these Brexit negotiations. It is hugely significant that the Union's commitment to continue "to support peace, stability and reconciliation on the island of Ireland" has been enshrined in the first phase of negotiations. Ireland is the only individual member state to be mentioned in this way and to have its specific concerns prioritised as the Union's concerns, and we should not underestimate the significance of this.

With regard to the future of Europe and Ireland's position in a reformed European Union, Ireland overwhelmingly sees its role in that European Union. A recent Red C poll that we commissioned and that has been submitted to the committee showed 88% of people thought Ireland should remain in the European Union. That poll was launched for Europe Day just a couple of weeks ago, on 9 May.

As I am sure members are all aware, the European Commission published a White Paper on the future of Europe at the beginning of March earlier this year. Outlined in it are five scenarios for the EU 27 by 2025, to be taken forward for discussion by the member states. Scenario 1 is carrying on. Scenario 2 involves nothing but the Single Market. Scenario 3 concerns those who want to do more. Scenario 4 is doing less more efficiently. Scenario 5 is doing much more together. Following the European Commission's publication of the White Paper, EU leaders committed in the Rome Declaration in March to act together "at different paces and intensity where necessary, while moving in the same direction ... in line with the Treaties and keeping the door open to those who want to join later". Therefore, a reformed and reforming European Union and the future of Europe after Brexit are very much on the agenda.

It has become something of a truism to say the European Union needs to be reformed. Most politicians, political leaders, commentators, officials and citizens agree on this and, arguably, Brexit has created a renewed sense of urgency in this process.

The real questions that reforming the European Union and the future of Europe pose for Ireland are many, but I will focus specifically on two. First, I believe we have to have a debate about exactly what we would like a reformed European Union to look like. We need to look closely at the various scenarios outlined in the European Commission's White Paper, as well as our position on a so-called "multi-speed Europe". The forum exists for Ireland to engage in and to work to ensure the best possible outcome.

Second, we need to question how we can seek to have an input into and shape this reformed European Union to best suit and reflect Ireland's interests. Part of the solution would appear to be to continue to accentuate and develop Irish engagement at all levels and layers in Brussels and across the various EU capitals, which would aid in the related but distinct aim of diversifying, deepening and intensifying our European alliances.

Effective Irish engagement in Brussels and across all the EU capitals will be fundamental in helping Ireland to shape this reformed European Union in which we as a country clearly want to remain after Brexit. This engagement is something we should seek to step up across a range of policy areas. Sometimes in Ireland we forget that we have a voice. We have a significant voice and it is our duty and responsibility to use it. As a small open economy on the geographical periphery of Europe, we need to think of the best ways of amplifying this voice in Europe, not just on Brexit but also after Brexit as part of the EU 27.

Let me be clear. Brexit will be bad for the United Kingdom, bad for Ireland and bad for the European Union. It is something European Movement Ireland has never shied away from stating prior to the run-up to the referendum and in its aftermath. It is something no one in Ireland really wanted and is quite possibly the biggest peacetime challenge we have faced as a country as we work to ensure the best possible outcome.

With regard to the upcoming Brexit negotiations, it is certainly not in the interests of Ireland or the European Union for there to be a bad deal or, worse still, no deal. There has been much talk here in Ireland about needing to avoid a no deal scenario, which would mean falling off a so-called cliff edge. To me, that always brings to mind images of the great Blondin walking across a tightrope across the Niagara Falls. Each step in the tricky and complex process is crucial to succeeding. While we may be concentrating solely on walking this Brexit tightrope, a recent European Movement Ireland survey of our European Movement International network found that only 55% of responding organisations considered Brexit to be the top EU priority in their respective country. While sometimes it may seem to us in Ireland as if Brexit is the only game in town, it is certainly not at an EU level, where those concerned are grappling with many complex challenges. We should not lose sight of this reality. When considering the future of Europe, we must obviously consider Brexit but also look beyond it.

With the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, Ireland will lose, plausibly, its closest partner at the EU table. This comes against the backdrop of a less certain and more fluid global environment.

We should not be afraid to speak truth to power in this new global order. In order to remain fully active in the EU, we need to think about diversifying and intensifying our existing alliances across Europe, both politically and in terms of our trading relationships, as well as across our many different international networks including membership organisations, civil society organisations, business associations and trade unions. We have seen the beginnings of attempts to intensify these alliances in the context of Brexit with, for example, the recent meeting of the Taoiseach with the leaders of Denmark and the Netherlands to discuss how best to minimise the impact of Brexit on the economies of these countries. This is something which we will need to replicate throughout the negotiations but also once the UK has actually left the EU. Building strong alliances on a policy-by-policy basis, for example, will be crucial in ensuring Ireland’s success in a realigned and reformed EU.

There is also growing recognition of the need for Irish business to continue to diversify and expand into the vast European Single Market of over 510 million consumers, or 445 million post Brexit. This is a very significant market to which Ireland has full access and of which we are part. In that context, Enterprise Ireland’s eurozone market strategy with its vision of Irish companies powering the economy through strong positions in eurozone export markets represents the kind of strategic business thinking we need to explore further.

Jean Monnet, a pioneer of European integration, once stated “People only accept change when they are faced with necessity, and only recognise necessity when a crisis is upon them.” The ongoing success of the Government’s all-island civic dialogue on Brexit - which European Movement Ireland called for, welcomed and participated in - has shown the productiveness of participatory democracy in strengthening public ownership, involvement and debate and in feeding into Government policy and strategy. In that context, we are calling for a citizens’ assembly on the future of Europe to advance the debate on Brexit, which will have a significant impact on every citizen on the island of Ireland. We urge the committee to include this suggestion in its final report to the Seanad. I thank members for their attention and look forward to their questions.