Mr. Francie Molloy:

I thank the Tánaiste for his presentation. It is good to see him back at the committee since his last presentation here. I have a concern that people in the North, nationalists in particular, who look to this Government to support them and be the guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, feel neglected and have been left behind. There are issues around where and how people vote. The Tánaiste recently attacked Sinn Féin for not taking our seats in Westminster. The people in the North have decided against Westminster and have turned their backs on Westminster. They decided to vote for Sinn Féin for our particular policies. We are, however, here today as MPs and we are looking for speaking and voting rights within this committee, and speaking rights within the Dáil to ensure that the voice of Northern representation is not lost in the future.

On the issue of Brexit, the Tánaiste said there can be no other solution but I believe there is a very simple solution, which is Irish unity. The Tánaiste has said that one cannot mix the two things together but I certainly believe there is an opportunity to use Irish unity as the only solution. It needs no borders and would create no borders. It would actually alleviate the need for borders. It would give the Irish people as a whole the right to self-determination.

The other issue is around a referendum. The Tánaiste has said there is no reason to have a referendum on Irish unity at the moment. What criteria has the Irish Government set or proposed to the British Government on how a referendum would be called? Unfortunately, the Good Friday Agreement left it that it would be the British Government and the British Secretary of State, who would call it with no input from the Irish Government. Will the Tánaiste indicate what is the current criteria that we can work with for a roadmap towards exactly how a referendum would actually happen in the North?