Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I join in the words of welcome expressed for Congressman Neal and congratulate him on his re-election as Chairman of the US Congressional Committee on Ways and Means. I thank him for all the hard work that he has done over many decades and for his efforts to assist building peace and prosperity in Ireland. I welcome the remarks that he made during an online discussion on Ireland's future. He said that he hopes to see Irish unity, and I do too. I thank him for his continued support and I hope that a united Ireland will be delivered without undue delay.

Congressman Neal has spoken at length that there would be no trade deal, on which the outgoing Congress was very clear, between the UK and the US if the Good Friday Agreement was jeopardised or a hard border was imposed. I do not think there should be any border in Ireland but there certainly should not be a rowing back and imposition of a border as it causes great economic, societal and political harm. I welcome the fact that Congressman Neal has very clearly and directly reaffirmed that commitment here today. As welcome and as positive as our engagement has been, part of the rationale for meeting today was to provide him with a platform to reaffirm and assert the commitment as directly and bluntly as he has done.

I will make two brief observations and then ask Congressman Neal two questions. As he will know, the Good Friday Agreement pertains to issues of more than trade and permeates into all aspects of life on this island. As he probably will have guessed, I hail from the second city of Ireland, which is Belfast. I live in the North but I am a Member of Seanad Éireann that meets in Dublin. Congressman Neal has referred to strand 2 of the Good Friday Agreement, which refers to the North-South institutions and arrangements. Crucial in the context of Brexit is the rights agenda. There are 156 cross-Border co-operation schemes. The British Government continues to call for the scrapping of all or parts of the European Convention on Human Rights. However, the application of the convention is a core component of the Good Friday Agreement. The convention is hardwired into the agreement. No one knows what type of Brexit we will end up with on 1 January, but we know there will be no good outcome for this island, just varying degrees of harm. Would Congressman Neal be willing to report or audit the application of Brexit against the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements to ensure that all parts of the agreement are protected in advance of a British-US trade deal?

The Cathaoirleach, Senator Daly, has invited Congressman Neal to visit the Seanad in person, and I hope to see him. Is it fitting and timely, health restrictions allowing, for a Congressional delegation to visit Ireland in the new year to see first-hand how Brexit is working out? We look forward to working with the Congressman, not just in the immediate days ahead as we face into Brexit but also beyond that.