Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Vice-President of the European Commission, Mr. Šefovi, for appearing today. It shows the interest that the European Commission has in dealing with this issue. I welcome what he says.

We all accept that Brexit was going to be a disaster that needed to be mitigated, and the Irish protocol was a major part of that. I accept the support of the European Commission in ensuring that no hard border will be re-erected on the island of Ireland and its support for the Good Friday Agreement.

I note that Mr. Šefovi does not want to go into the individual acts which led to the mistake around the threat to trigger Article 16. If this body is not going to be given that information, that is one thing. I would like to get clarity from Mr. Šefovi that the European Commission will absolutely investigate and break down how that happened, because we all get the absolute seriousness of it. We need to look into exactly what the mechanisms are to ensure it does not happen again. I welcome the comments of Mr. Šefovi about a horizontal overview and a clearing house. I assume that would also involve checks with Dublin and Belfast. Can Mr. Šefovi give any indication of how this would work? If not, can Mr. Šefovi come back to this committee and others? I believe it is vital that this information is put out. To a degree it might lessen some of the concerns that exist.

I am keen to get some information on the interaction of Mr. Šefovi with Michael Gove. Obviously, the British Government has threatened several things at different times. I welcome what Mr. Šefovi says in respect of his conversations with Michael Gove. They have been useful in respect of support for the Irish protocol and the fact that it is part of an international agreement that is not going anywhere. What has Michael Gove said in respect of Mr. Šefovi asking questions about the real-time access to customs databases and the issue the European Commission has with border control posts? This fits in with what the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Transport say to the effect that one major issue still is the lack of preparations in Britain. This extends to the lack of preparations by British firms and that is impacting on this situation. In fairness, Mr. Šefovi spoke about 24 February being a major date. What does he expect at that point? Will we have dealt with a considerable amount of any modifications or leeway that are necessary in respect of the movement of freight and other issues? These are all issues that we want to see dealt with.

I welcome the fact that Mr. Šefovi is open to ongoing dialogue with stakeholders and dealing with modifications. Political unionism has made its decisions on how it will play its hand in the next election. To a degree, it is operating a playbook it used in the 1980s and the 1880s, and that is unfortunate. If the European Commission wants to sell the Irish protocol to businessmen and farmers from a unionist and nationalist background, it may need to aim above political unionism. I would welcome any interaction with the necessary stakeholders. I am seeking some clarity from Mr. Šefovi that he will engage with some groupings in Ireland who have been engaged in campaigning against Brexit and for mitigations. I would like to think that Border Communities Against Brexit is one of these organisations. If not, it should be considered in that regard. I would welcome any information that could be given in respect of what Deputy Brady has asked about Northern representation. Sinn Féin has been clear. The argument that Irish unity is the only solution to dealing long-term with the issues of the British Border in Ireland is being understood and believed by far more people now.

If we finally get to a better time, post pandemic and post vaccinations, I would like to think we could invite Mr. Šefovi to visit the Border region. Obviously, the most important part of the region is where County Louth, my constituency, touches the Border.