Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Verhofstadt for his very illuminating address. I also thank him for his strong support for Ireland, for the manner in which he has facilitated the ALDE group in supporting the Irish cause in respect of Brexit, and for his determination that Ireland would not suffer. In the limited time that is available I will put two key points to Mr. Verhofstadt, if I may. He rightly drew attention to the citizenship dimension of the Good Friday Agreement and the idea of multiple identities - of Irish citizenship and European citizenship. It is extremely important that in the ultimate resolution of this, the idea of Irish citizenship as enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement is protected in the context of the resolution between the European Union and the United Kingdom. In a post-Brexit scenario, Northern Ireland will have the largest concentration of European Union citizens outside of the union's borders. It is essential that mechanisms are found which will ensure those citizens are in a position to continue to enjoy the rights and privileges of European citizenship.

Second, notwithstanding the British position at the moment in terms of the customs union, which is ultimately the key issue in terms of the Border question, we have been putting forward the idea that a special economic zone needs to be considered. There are many examples of economic zones across the world. Economic zones in themselves do not challenge or undermine the unique constitutional framework of east-west, North-South and the Northern Ireland settlement. In other words, it is possible within the existing constitutional framework to devise an economic zone for the North and the Border counties which would maintain freedom of trade - goods, services and people - North and South. We need to move on from the language of a "frictionless border" or "no border" and start working on concrete ideas and solutions that could ultimately bring a resolution to the issue.