Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Commission Vice-President for his attendance. I also thank him and his team for the work they have put in to getting the Northern Ireland protocol agreed. He said it took up a lot of his time so he is obviously a patient man. We appreciate the work he and his team put into the protocol.

We have spoken about the political fallout from the attempted triggering of Article 16. There is no point in going over that again, other than to say that the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland now has a five-point plan to free Northern Ireland of the protocol. Sectarian tensions are rising.

Senator Lisa Chambers referred to forthcoming elections in Northern Ireland. The protocol has to be agreed by the Northern Ireland Assembly in four years. We need to sort these issues out.

We are all agreed that we need to ensure that using the protocol never happens again. Could the Commissioner elaborate more on communications between the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Michael Gove, the clearing house arrangement and overview mechanisms? Will there be formal structures in place or structures of any kind to ensure this does not happen again? What about the role of the Irish Commissioner in this? Commissioners take an oath to the European Union and do not have a mandate for their national countries. Would part of the clearing house process, communications or overview involve consultation with the Irish Commissioner and his or her office?

The problems the protocol is causing for businesses and civic society in Northern Ireland have been exaggerated for political reasons among certain political parties. There have been post-Brexit administrative delays and problems with supply chains, as well as increased transportation costs. Northern Irish supermarkets have experienced shortages of time-sensitive goods such as fresh produce and chilled meats. Other issues have arisen with, for example, the movement of seed potatoes and family pets. Is the Commissioner confident that practical and sensible modifications can be brought forward for the operation and the implementation of the protocol, having regard to the issues I have just outlined? Can there be an extension to the grace period?

A recent article in the Sunday Telegraphreported that Michael Gove is considering an alternative mutual enforcement plan to the protocol that would remove the border from the Irish Sea and restore the land border in Ireland, which would require the UK and the EU to apply checks at the same level as each other. Obviously this is unacceptable to us in Ireland. I assume it is unacceptable to the European Commission as well.