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

I appreciate all of the interaction and I thank the committee. Never have I needed to give an answer before in respect of the European Commission or even the Irish Government but I will do my best to do justice to all.

Maroš Šefovi appeared before this committee and from any interactions, interviews or anything that I or our MEP Chris McManus have had from him, it would appear that he is completely au fait as to the relationship with Ireland, towards getting a solution and to streamlining the process.

As to what Baroness Ritchie has mentioned about the Irish protocol not necessarily being an issue where she is from, in the shops, etc., I will not quote any Sinn Féin spokespeople in respect of that. I will say, however, say that Deputy Coveney, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, was before the committee and said that his interaction with businessmen and farmers, particularly of a unionist persuasion, was just about finding solutions. They were not overly vexed as to the politics of this. This has been played by unionist politicians because of the situation that they find themselves in. I agree with Lord Hain in the fact that the loyalist communities have been let down and used by unionist politicians for many years and by the British State also at certain points in time.

We are many years away now from Paisley and Molyneux, where "Ulster Says No" and being able to put those sort of numbers on the street. We do not want to see any violence or anything like that into the future and we are far away from that. I agree that we need more interaction and cool heads but I will put it plainly. This for me is just continuity and 100 years of the failure of partition and the only real solution is Irish unity. I do not think it will shock anybody that that is my and my party's view and we need a full conversation on that issue.

There are obviously elements in Europe who believe that Brexit was bad and that the British deserve to feel some element of pain in respect of it but the overarching feeling is to arrive at a solution. Our committee would have heard that it is very difficult to trust somebody where one cannot necessarily base anything on the last conversation that one had with them, whether that is David Frost or Boris Johnson, because what they say then to the media is something different. Sometimes that is gameplaying and sometimes it is just reassuring one's base but that has not been particularly beneficial in Ireland. Succour has been given to the more extreme elements of loyalism and political unionism that there is some gameplay to be had around the Irish protocol whereas what every sensible person wants is a streamlining and to deal with the problems.

As to the benefits, as I said it here before and was hammered by certain voices within the the DUP for doing so, there are certain advantages that the North will have in respect of its situation vis-à-vis the Single Market and the east-west connectivity. That may, however, have to be sold from a European Commission, European Union or an Irish Government point above where political unionism is at this moment in time. I will probably get hammered for having said that again now. Gabhaim buíochas.