Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 2 December 2020

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union

Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union

Photo of Michael McDowellMichael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. I also welcome the pragmatic flexible approach he is indicating that Ireland is taking. People sometimes elevate principles to too much importance when practical matters are more important.

Following on from Senator Lombard's point in respect of fisheries, my take on it is that when Ireland and the UK joined the European Economic Community in 1972, we had different territorial waters. People cannot blame the EU for everything that has happened since. Waters which were international then have become national now. When one looks at fisheries as a percentage of UK GDP and Irish GDP, while it is important, there are other more important matters that have to be dealt with. From my reading of the English press, the Daily Mail, The Daily Express and so on, this is the jingoistic issue on which people are taking robust stances and elevating to a matter of principle, ignoring the fact that Britain has to get fish exporting rights into the EU if its fisheries industry is to prosper at all. Is there a question of postponing it or having a temporary arrangement? I ask the Minister to comment on that matter. While we are all shaping up to each other, is there a possibility that the temperature could be lowered a bit? Leverage is not all that important now. One of the thoughts in the back of my mind is that reflagging of ships could probably happen and the industry will be very flexible in the context of what is agreed.

The Minister mentioned the state aid mechanism. I appreciate that on the previous occasion I raised it with him, he had to be somewhat coy and diplomatic. I presume that remains the case so I will not press him. I am interested in the free ports that the Tory Party in England is always talking about. Is the Department of Foreign Affairs, as the Irish trade Department, considering any proposals for free ports in Northern Ireland such as the Belfast-Larne area? The Minister also mentioned the governance of future agreements as an issue. Will that be dealt with by way of a dispute mechanism resolution or a tribunal?

We have an awful lot of mutual interests with the United Kingdom and with the island of Great Britain as well as just Northern Ireland.

In respect of the shared island concept that is part of the Government's programme and the common travel area considerations, do we have a plan to develop UK-Ireland relations to a higher degree than they are at the moment?

In the context of theDaily Mail, The Daily Express and so on, and the Prime Minister, Mr. Johnson's, remarks about devolution in Scotland having turned out to be a total disaster, I get the impression there is a great deal of macho unionist talk and integrationist talk in the UK. Are we squaring up to that tendency, which is not a very helpful one?

When I was involved in government, between 1999 and 2007, there was immense reliance by Ireland as a State on UK research and analysis and legislative scrutiny of what was happening in Britain. I refer even to UK university research, not just state research. Britain was far more tooled up to deal with EU legislation and proposals for EU legislation. I am really worried that I do not see a development of our intellectual infrastructure, either at an Oireachtas level, outside the Oireachtas or at a departmental level to make up for what will be a huge vacuum in our capacity to fire on all cylinders when we are interacting with other member states at Council level and dealing with the Commission and the European Parliament.

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