Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I address my remarks to you, a Cheann Comhairle and to parliamentarians of this State, Northern Ireland, Europe and beyond. Today is world International Day of Peace, as designated by the United Nations and that should not be lost on our defining moment in 1998 with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement and the subsequent establishment of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement in 2007 to monitor and oversee the ongoing implementation of that historic peace agreement.

I welcome Mr. Verhofstadt to Leinster House. The attendance of the many dignitaries, ambassadors, officials, MPs, MEPs and MLAs, sends out a clear signal of the need for solutions to Brexit and peace and if those solutions can be found on this island our many problems in the EU may also be resolved. I commend the membership of the committee, its officials and witnesses on their ongoing work on Brexit and exploring solutions while extremely cognisant of building on our fragile peace and progressing the many legacy issues.

For many of us there can be various defining moments in our history but for me the main aim of the Treaty of Rome, the forerunner to the EEC or EU, was to ensure that peace not war would unite us in prosperity. I am 59 years of age and was born ten years before the further outbreak of the Troubles in 1969 that broke many families and fractured communities and their prosperity in Northern Ireland, the Border region and beyond. I also remember life pre-EEC and post-EEC membership and the transformation that this great island achieved as a result of EU investment in trade and infrastructure, much of which is ongoing. For all of us in this Chamber and beyond the strides that this country has made have been significantly enhanced with peace, which has encouraged communities North and South to face each other with a common purpose, respect and recognition that there is strength in unity and friendship is what is important.

Politicians will not be forgiven by this generation and future ones if they fail to progress and enhance this fragile peace. Let there be no mistake, Brexit has the potential to derail so many of the gains of this island and we must not allow that to happen. Some key findings of the report from our committee have found that the all-Ireland economy must not be affected or allowed to regress. A tailored solution taking into account its very unique circumstances is required. We are concerned about the commitment to continue both the INTERREG and PEACE programmes, which provided €3.5 billion in the past 20 years. It is important that such a commitment would immediately be set out clearly so that people can plan and communities can continue to prosper from the PEACE moneys.

The committee calls on the Government and the EU to undertake a detailed study on the potential implications of Brexit on reconciliation. Allied to that is the psychological impact identified by the committee that Brexit will further affect many families in the North and along the Border corridor. Whether one has been a victim, a combatant or an innocent bystander the emotional scars of murder, death and explosions remain deep rooted and continue to need healing.

Brexit presents many challenges but there are also opportunities. The committee believes the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement can step up and take on additional responsibilities, including the British-Irish Council and the North-South Ministerial Council, whose remit needs to be reviewed and enhanced. Like Mr. Verhofstadt, the committee has visited many groups in Northern Ireland who feel they have no voice in the current political stalemate and it is the committee's responsibility to bring those anxieties to his attention.

These need to be represented in the all-Ireland debate. Indeed, the absence of unionism and a unionist voice at the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement is regrettable.

Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, widely recognised as the cornerstone of peace. That anniversary takes place at a time of uncertainty in North-South and British-Irish relations. Perhaps it is an opportune time for the EU and the European Parliament to reinvigorate its investment in making our peace process a world model and exemplar that will show war-torn regions around the world how a lasting peace can be achieved. I should add that many representatives of such regions have visited us to look at what we are doing. Politics is about the art of the possible and we owe it to our children and our children’s children to live in peace, prosperity and harmony on this island.

Both Mr. Verhofstadt and Mr. Barnier continue to use the term "unique solution" in their deliberations. Will Mr. Verhofstadt suggest what his thoughts are on that solution and what he feels it could look like?

With the Ceann Comhairle's permission, I have been asked by my colleagues from the British Parliament on the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement committee, who are here with us today, to ask Mr. Verhofstadt if he will produce a report on his fact-finding visit after he returns to Brussels. Will he share his experience of the last 48 hours with Mr. Barnier? How concerned does he believe the European Parliament is about the impact of Brexit on the Good Friday Agreement?