Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Commissioner. This is the first opportunity I have to do so publicly. I also congratulate my colleague, Senator Dooley, on his elevation. From the east to the west of the country we are well served in Europe.

I will be very brief as a lot of the points have already been raised by my colleagues. With regard to the protocol, I do have a degree of sympathy for the unionist community in that it has been very badly served by Boris Johnson and his Government. They are treated differently to any other part of the UK as a result of the protocol and we need to be sensitive to this fact. The Commissioner, coming from the neck of the wood she does, is well aware of this. It is important that everyone in Europe is also aware of it.

Having said all of this, I can feel the Commissioner's pain, so to speak, on the huge frustration that must exist in the EU about its dealings with the UK Government. It is absolutely baffling to listen to Boris Johnson speak about a protocol he signed off on and, as the Commissioner outlined in her opening contribution, the UK Parliament signed and sealed the protocol. Now, it is as if he fell asleep during the entire process and is only waking up today to the ramifications of that agreement. This is truly frustrating.

At the end of her contribution, the Commissioner hinted the EU may have to play tough at some point in this, in whatever shape or form this may take. I am afraid we might become collateral damage in all of this, and I have no doubt the Commissioner is well aware of this. Europe might get fed up hanging around dealing with the UK and put the foot down, and we might be the losers in this regard because, potentially, no country will be as affected by the negativity of Brexit as us. Is this sentiment floating around in Brussels with the rest of the Commissioner's partners in discussions? Is she hearing this?

Other colleagues have made points on country of origin. It is important that every country shows flexibility on this issue, and this would extend to the EU. Country of origin was mentioned yesterday several times by representatives from the National Dairy Council and people from the whiskey community. It is something we need to be aware of and I would like to think Europe would show a degree of flexibility on this also.