Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Commissioner for his time this morning. We all appreciate how much time he is giving us. He will be blue in the face by the time the session is over from being asked the same question over and over. It is because we are genuinely frustrated at not getting the response we expected. The announcement made on 29 January was, for us, probably far greater than a mistake. I believe the only reason it was rowed back upon was because of the enormous response and backlash it received. It is obvious to all of us that it was a decision that was made emotionally. The Commission was peeved - I use that phrase but it was probably far stronger than that - at what it perceived to be a fast one with regard to the supply of vaccines in the European Union versus the United Kingdom. It was an emotion-based response but it was also a rookie response. It is difficult to understand as none of us associate the word "rookie" with the European Commission. None of us associates a disassociation from what invoking Article 16 would have done to the island of Ireland versus the painstaking determination of the negotiations of the previous four years to ensure that exactly that did not ever happen to the island of Ireland, its people, its economy and, most importantly, our peace. Until we understand how that rookie mistake came about, it is difficult for us to appreciate and accept the new protocols the Commissioner has described so eloquently today and his assurance that it will never happen again.

A number of my colleagues are still to speak and I fear the Commissioner will be asked the same question by every one of us. We need to understand how that mistake happened rather than mincing words as to whether the article was invoked or not. A clear statement was made on 29 January that the Commission was invoking Article 16. We are all well aware that the only reason it was pulled back from was the massive backlash that came from that statement. I do not know if there is something stopping the Commissioner or he is protecting someone in the office or the Commission, but it is important for every member of this committee and every citizen on the island of Ireland to understand how that happened so we can be assured it will never happen again.