Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Andrews for his presentation and engagement. I agree with him about the parliamentary structure. That is an important matter. He mentioned the legacy of John Hume in internationalising the Northern Ireland issue. It would be a tribute to his legacy, as a former Member of the European Parliament, if the European Parliament could be proactive and recognise its role in the Good Friday Agreement. I encourage Mr. Andrews to push that engagement with the Northern Ireland committee.

Beyond the Irish MEPs, what is the extent of the engagement within the Parliament around the trade and co-operation agreement? I got the feeling that when Brexit happened, the Parliament had moved on. Brexit had happened and it was left to the Irish MEPs, such as Mr. Andrews and Deputy Harkin when she was there, to fight the fight because Europe had taken the view that it had moved on. Is it the same with the trade and co-operation agreement? Are we the only country that is actively engaged in monitoring it, given the impact it will have?

Mr. Andrews spoke of the passing of the agreement representing a new phase. The papers this morning are reporting on the situation in Jersey, where the French Government is threatening to cut the power to the island as a consequence of a dispute on fishing. Our own fishing community here is alienated once again from this agreement because of the impact it is going to have on it. Mr Andrews mentioned in his submission that there are 27 issues yet to be sorted out around the protocol. At what stage are we going to move on to the constructive part of this new phase? He also stated that progress on those the 27 issues is slow. Is it slow at EU level or at UK level? How can we inject urgency into that position? Resolving those issues would allow us to build confidence in the protocol within the unionist community, to show that it actually works in the best interests of Northern Ireland.

I will deviate slightly from the topic. Mr. Andrews mentioned the Conference on the Future of Europe starting way back in November, which seems like a long time ago. This was our priority at that time but events have overtaken us. Given what Michel Barnier has said, how would this and the events of Brexit feed into the work of the Conference on the Future of Europe in a measurable way? What can Mr. Andrews say about that conference, as something real as opposed to something that is happening within the EU bubble?