Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte mór roimh an tUasal Verhofstadt. Táimid buíoch de faoi choinne a chuairt. I offer Mr. Verhofstadt a hundred thousand welcomes and thank him for his visit to our island. I welcome the content of his speech very much. In his remarks today, Mr. Verhofstadt acknowledged that people are very critical of the European Union. That is Sinn Féin's position. We want to see a more democratic, demilitarised, peaceful European Union which embraces economic and social justice, international solidarity and an end to poverty. Notwithstanding that, we campaigned in the North for a Remain vote, because it is our view that to have one part of the island outside the European Union and another part inside is just folly. It is a really significant fact which has been ignored by some, but people in the North supported that position. They voted to remain within the EU and we believe that vote should be upheld and actively defended. The various policy positions which the British Government has unveiled, including leaving the customs union, will all cost jobs, undermine the economy and subvert sectors in both parts of the island.

I particularly want to welcome Mr. Verhofstadt's remarks on the Good Friday Agreement. I know that he values the peace process and I understand he met some of our colleagues: Martina Anderson MEP, our group leader in the European Parliament, our national spokesperson on Brexit, Deputy David Cullinane, and our Members of the European Parliament. His description of the Border and of partition is very much appreciated, as are his warnings of the dire consequences if it is reinforced.

To move on to my questions, will Mr. Verhofstadt give us an assessment of the possibility of agreement, given that there has only been limited information available thus far and that there does not appear to have been any real progress from the British side? I welcome his suggestion that the North remain within the customs union and the Single Market. That is effectively the designated status for the North which we have campaigned for and which the Dáil, the majority of MLAs and the European Parliament support. The threat and the danger to the Good Friday Agreement could be averted if the agreement was incorporated in full as a protocol in the withdrawal agreement. I commend that position to Mr. Verhofstadt and ask him to give his support to that proposition.