Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair. I will come back with responses and the members can read them later. I will address Senator Neale Richmond's comments first. The increased commitment to the MFF does not identify what we are talking about in respect of that commitment and where that funding will go. The overall negotiations are only starting to take place. Senator Richmond's suggestions on increased security and defence will be fed back in and I will make sure the Minister hears them.

I agree with the Senator on the status of the candidate countries from the western Balkans. We need to support them as much as we can. They have obligations to fulfil on the reform of the rule of law, justice and fundamental rights in their own countries. We need to make sure we are extending the European hand of friendship and supporting them in all those areas. The more visits we can make and the greater the presence we can have, at a European level, in those countries, the more beneficial it will be. On the timeline for the publication of the future of Europe report, we hope to have it published by the end of this summer. We will ensure that all the members of the committee receive the published report and afterwards, if needs be, we could discuss it here if any of the members want to go through it.

Senator Richmond also asked about the process between now and the June summit, and in particular the negotiations and discussions taking place following the publication of the document by the UK Government last week. A further round of intensive discussions and negotiations is considering some of the legal aspects. The legal team is looking at the document, how feasible elements of it are and whether it is a basis for further discussions and negotiations. That will then feed into the fifth round of negotiations between Mr. Michel Barnier and the EU task force and Mr. David Davis and the UK Government. That will be the fifth of five. The last one was last week.

A question was also asked about the Irish involvement leading into the summit. Our officials, here in Ireland, in Brussels and throughout Europe, are engaging daily with the EU task force. Any information needed on the Irish issue or protocol is, of course, fed into that process. Mr. Michel Barnier and Mr. Jean-Claude Juncker will visit Ireland next week. They will make known their thoughts and sentiments on the discussions to date on the proposal paper published last week. We will have in-depth discussions on that and we will make known our comments in the summit the week after.

Senator Richmond raised the fact that there are a number of concerns on the customs document. Mr. Barnier was very clear, when it was published last week, that three questions needed to be addressed. First, is it an operational text and will it ensure there is no hard Border on the island of Ireland. The answer to that is "no" because it is only one part of the Irish protocol - regulatory alignment is another key part of it. It is, however, an element of it, so we have to welcome that part. Does it impact on the integrity of the Single Market and the customs union is the second question. Questions on that, and the more technical detail, have been asked this week. The final question is on whether it is an all weather solution and will it work in all circumstances. Concerns were raised because of suggestions of a 2021 date mentioned in the document. A backstop for us is what it says it is. It is there unless and until another solution is found. We and the EU task force have been very clear on that. We have to allow continued discussions and negotiations on the document to happen.

A question was asked as well on a pause in the negotiations. We do not see that happening. It would only further jeopardise the process and the likelihood of us reaching an agreement by October. Instead of pausing it, we need to increase and intensify the discussions and negotiations in as much as we can. Senator Leyden suggested we need to think outside of the box. I agree.

On the idea of a specific economic zone for just Ireland and the UK, it would essentially suggest Ireland also leaving the EU if we were to have in place a different system or measure from the rest of Europe. The most recent survey undertaken shows that 92% of Irish people want to remain within the European Union, so I would not agree with any suggestion that we be in any way separate or different. We have a huge amount in common with the UK, not just in terms of trade but also historically and in the links between our people. There is €65 billion worth of trade between Ireland and the UK overall. However, this represents between 16% and 17% of our trade, although that percentage is much higher for agriculture. The EU represents 35% of our overall trade. While we are very much focused on getting the best outcome with the UK, that will be achieved through the wider EU-UK future relationship. Separate from the backstop, we are focusing our energy to make sure we have as close and comprehensive as possible future relationship between the EU as a whole and the UK. I agree that we would want there to be as little disruption as possible to the lives and livelihoods of our Irish citizens. That is our key priority.

Senator Coghlan raised the issue of the votes in the House of Commons yesterday. While I do not want to get into internal UK politics, the votes are still being discussed and there have been a number of amendments. It is very clear that come what may, whatever result we have in terms of an overall agreement on the withdrawal Bill, come October the House of Commons will have a part to play in the overall agreement of the deal that is reached. We also know, however, that other member states will have to bring back any deal to their own Governments for ratification. We want to ensure this happens by October so that other countries have an opportunity to ratify the agreement in their own individual Parliaments.

Deputy Durkan raised the issue of supporting Monsieur Barnier. I fully agree. At every General Affairs Council we have attended, Ireland and the other 26 member states have fully endorsed the manner in which he and his negotiating and task force team have been carrying out the negotiations and this support will continue. He made it very clear that no country can be better off outside of the EU than it was when it was inside it. A number of outlines have been made in respect of ensuring that the Single Market's four freedoms of movement are upheld, particularly in terms of the customs union. It is clear there can be nothing that interrupts the integrity of either of those and that is our position also.

The Deputy is absolutely right that the EU is the best example of a peace process that we can see anywhere in the world. While the EU is not expressly mentioned very often in the document of the Good Friday Agreement, the EU membership of Ireland and the UK, and hence Ireland North and South, has through our membership of the Single Market and customs union removed those physical barriers and infrastructure. Our EU membership has thus played a key part in bringing about the peace process and has allowed people to go about their lives as they have for the past 20 years.

The Chairman made some remarks on the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP. We are in the very early stages. Various sectors have been publishing their initial reports on it over the past six weeks. There is still a lot of discussion to be had on the CAP. The Minister, Deputy Creed has met a number of his counterparts from Spain, France, Portugal, Greece and Finland to suggest that the proposed 5% cut should not happen and that we should essentially have the same budget as the last time. That is why we are saying we are willing to pay more money. However, we want to see that our key concerns and priorities around the CAP, cohesion, research and innovation and investment are upheld as well. The discussions will be going on for some time. We will give our initial reaction in the next two weeks at the General Affairs Council. We will do everything in our power to make sure our key concerns, particularly the CAP budget, will be addressed and we will make every effort to ensure that budget is impacted as little as possible.

By the June European Council we have said we want to see as much significant progress as possible. If we do not see it, the idea of reaching an agreement in October will be in jeopardy. While we have had an additional proposal on the customs element of the backstop, we would very much like to see additional progress on the regulatory alignment piece of the backstop, which is in a sense bigger than the customs element as a key part of ensuring we have no border on the island of Ireland. We have two weeks left. Intensive discussions are happening this week and a further round of negotiations is taking place next week. We will then have a greater sense of whether anything else will be proposed by the UK Government.