Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Most of the questions have been asked at this stage but I will pick up on a few points. I thank the two ambassadors for their presentations and for enlightening us on the positions of their respective countries on the forthcoming negotiations on Brexit. The ambassador from the Netherlands in particular spoke about the close economic, social and cultural and political ties between his country and the UK. It is the same here. Both ambassadors raised concerns, which we share, about barriers to trade being erected and also our respective communities living in the UK. Those are issues that must be addressed.

It is interesting that both ambassadors agreed with the President of the European Commission and others that access by the UK to the Single Market will involve adherence to the four freedoms. There are difficult negotiations ahead.

I am very pleased that both ambassadors stated their appreciation of the Irish position on Brexit. As Irish parliamentarians that is an issue we will raise at every opportunity. We are all concerned about the barriers to trade, but as my colleagues mentioned, we are concerned in particular about the erection of a hard Border on the island of Ireland. We are also concerned about difficulties relating to the future of the common travel area and especially the position of the Northern Ireland peace process. We are putting our case forward and I hope that some accommodation can be reached with Ireland because of those unique circumstances. Leaving trade aside, I hope the other issues involving North-South relations will be recognised by all the member states of the European Union in the discussions and by the Commission as well and the European Parliament.

I appreciate the briefing on the Slovak Presidency. The ambassador has been in on a previous occasion. We wish him well. We followed the progress of the Bratislava Summit and the Brussels Summit and the Slovak Presidency is meeting the challenges, of which there are many, facing the European Union, and they are being worked through.

The final issue I wish to raise is one other colleagues have also mentioned. The Brexit vote did raise concerns about the future of the European Union and the European project. We all recognise that the European Union has brought about peace and stability in Europe since the Second World War. No doubt the ambassadors would appreciate that far more than we would on the outskirts of Europe. That is a very positive thing. However, as has been mentioned, there has been an increase in populism, extreme nationalism and the extreme left and right and opposition to globalisation. They all relate to problems concerning sluggish economic growth, youth unemployment, disillusion with the European Union generally and the fact that it is seen as overly bureaucratic and not able to communicate its message well. They are all problems that have led to euroscepticism. I am interested to hear what the position is in each of the ambassadors' respective countries in terms of support for the European Union. Generally speaking, Irish people are supportive of the European Union but that cannot be taken for granted the way global trends are going. I wish to hear about the level of domestic popular support for the European Union in the respective countries of the ambassadors. Perhaps they could indicate whether that is under threat given the global trends.