Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to begin by thanking the witnesses for their presentation. The more I read and listen, the more concerned I become. We have every reason to be concerned. We started off with a great blaze of publicity because everything was concentrated on Ireland initially. That is fading and will continue to fade. We should not be fooled into believing that everybody is going to be looking after us. The reality is that we are the real losers.

Ireland must demand protection. The idea of people coming into Ireland without a so-called boundary with the UK is a dreamland when we get down to the nitty-gritty. The current situation, whereby I can get off a plane or boat in Dublin, hire a car and make my way to the North of Ireland without anybody stopping me, and then make my way into Britain, will not continue. It is not reality. I do not care what people say or what so-called agreements are in place. It is not practical and has all sorts of implications for us. We will become a gateway into the EU. We will take on a great deal of responsibility because we have a boundary to protect on behalf of the EU, just as Britain has a boundary to protect on its behalf.

The more I watch television and listen to debates, the more convinced I am that we are too quiet. We should be in every discussion and debate that takes place, consider our position carefully and demand more than what we are getting. We had a blaze of glory for a couple of days, but that has faded. We are now getting different versions of what was supposed to be agreed in regard to Ireland.

I follow the issue very closely on television. I am a great watcher of BBC television in order to find out exactly what is happening. At times I say to myself that this is not what I was led to understand. Time is marching on. I am delighted that the witnesses and their group are taking such an active involvement in this, but they deserve greater backup and support and it is time that was provided. We as committee members need to keep highlighting that we cannot be forgotten. There cannot be a mindset that Ireland has been sorted out. Ireland has not been sorted out.

Anybody with a brain between his or her ears cannot answer my question. As I said, the idea that I can get on a boat or plane, land in Ireland and drive to the North of Ireland and access Britain without anybody stopping me is not for real. It might last six months initially, but then all of the difficulties will appear. There will be goods brought in through back doors. I was a Minister for Defence at one stage and brought the visitors to see what the Border is actually like. They were flabbergasted to see that there were no gates or walls. There are open fields and mountains. It is impossible.

I get the feeling that these negotiations are going on, but at the end of the day the real loser will be Ireland which has taken on a significant responsibility given that we are the only land gateway into Britain. We are saying that the land gateway will be unprotected. Realism has to come into this debate. We need to work together and be more demanding about getting answers now to the sort of questions I and others, including the witnesses, are posing. This issue cannot go into 2019 and 2020. When it comes to the rubberstamp, Ireland will be told it cannot stand in the way of the agreement.

Now is the time to have an agreement down on paper and stamped so that we know exactly what is involved. We can then move on to other discussions. It is only when we meet people like the witnesses, read their comments and see more that we ask ourselves how this is going to work. Nobody can answer that because we have never been given an answer. The most worrying thing is that if one watches the BBC which I and, I am sure, others do, the information given depends on who is being interviewed. Some people have a different version of the Irish agreement. There was a side comment that things have not been fully agreed. What has been agreed? That is what I want to know.

I am delighted that we have had an opportunity to hear the views of the witnesses. The more we talk to people like them and listen and understand, the more we realise how important it is to have an organisation like theirs and others, and start listening, focusing and looking for an agreement on paper long before 2019 or 2020 so that there are no ifs, ands or buts. Nobody has been able to answer the questions I have posed. I thank the witnesses.