Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am just making the point that it is how we should proceed. I have been saying this for five years. To be fair, some proposals have come from the reform committee relating to this. It would be preferable to get an understanding from the beginning.

With regard to Brexit, it is interesting that the Taoiseach referenced the terms of the EU agreement with Britain. To a large extent, it has almost become irrelevant in the conduct of the campaign, and very quickly the campaign has moved to the fundamentals, which are about Britain staying within the European Union and the economic implications of Britain leaving the European Union for its citizens, with various presentations from the Treasury and so on outlining the level of economic decline that would occur under various scenarios. So much for all the choreography in advance of the referendum, as much of it has not had an impact on the conduct of the campaign. I put it to the Taoiseach that part of the issue in the UK is the level of anti-European Union sentiment that has for over 30 years been articulated across Europe, where the EU has served as an all-purpose whipping boy for English nationalists as well as extremists. That has taken its toll on public opinion.

We must take on board the possibility of the "Leave" side winning, although I hope it does not. Has there been serious scenario planning by the Government and Departments in that context of Britain leaving the EU? During the talks with Independents we met senior officials in various Departments and I was a bit taken aback with the candid admission that there was no scenario planning as such but the Departments were relying on some papers written by various academics in agriculture and other fields about what might happen if Britain left the European Union. It is a very serious issue from our perspective. Will the Taoiseach confirm, one way or the other, if various scenario planning has been undertaken by key economic Departments, including the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to be actioned if Britain takes the decision to leave the European Union.

Given the sheer scale of the importance of the issue for Ireland, the Dáil must agree issues in advance. If the "Leave" side wins, we must implement a co-ordinated series of steps to demonstrate that Ireland will respond. For example, a special sitting of the Dáil would be required, as would a set of formal resolutions by Dáil Éireann setting out Ireland's position on the future of the European Union and relations with the United Kingdom. Will the Taoiseach assure us that all relevant briefings will be supplied and contingency steps involving Dáil Éireann will be discussed and agreed in advance?

There were indications that the Opposition would be invited to participate in events in the UK to discuss the referendum and our view that Britain should remain within the European Union. This is particularly relevant to the Irish diaspora in the UK and Northern Ireland. Will the willingness of the Opposition to participate in this be taken on board, as there has been no engagement with the Opposition in this regard? We have organised our own events, of course, and as I stated, we had a very effective event in Cavan some months ago, where the appalling implications of Brexit for Northern Ireland agriculture were spelled out in no uncertain terms by experts from the agricultural world. That brings to mind the rather difficult position of the DUP in its ongoing opposition to the European Union and in supporting moves to leave the EU.

I do not know whether the Taoiseach discussed that with the First Minister this morning and whether he raised her opposition to the European Union and her desire for Northern Ireland to leave the European Union. I suggest that he should have raised it with her and put it to her that this would be a very retrograde step for the all-island economy and particularly for farmers and the agricultural sector in Northern Ireland. There seems to be very little doubt about that from the expert advice we have received.

With regard to the two questions about Northern Ireland, there needs to be far greater proactive engagement by the two co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement and the peace agreement in general. There was significant disengagement over the last five years. That has to stop, and the Governments must assert the duty of the Executive to fully implement the agreements and to end the exclusion of civil society from involvement in meaningful dialogue.

Now is an opportunity, with the election of the Assembly and the formation of a new Executive, to step back and have a fresh look at the overall situation. We believe there needs to be a new impetus to energise and expand cross-Border contacts, and we put it into the framework agreement for facilitating this Government. I ask for a fresh paper to be prepared regarding how we could do that, suggesting the creation of new bodies. I have long been of the view, for example, that there should be one Enterprise Ireland for the whole island, supporting indigenous enterprise and new start-ups and helping companies that are exporting abroad under the one agency, North and South, a bit like Tourism Ireland. That is a no-brainer as far as I am concerned, and we should be pushing for that kind of thing in the new situation in the years ahead. We also need to look at sharing services, as is happening, albeit very slowly, in the health area in regard to the provision of oncology and cancer services for the north west by Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry and the CAWT initiative. I would appreciate if some new momentum, which is urgently needed, were put into that area of North-South arrangements.

I also ask the Taoiseach for his views on the fact that parties outside the largest two have clearly had enough of being in an Executive in which basic information is withheld and all decisions are cooked in advance. They are now looking at a move to a more formal opposition arrangement. I would appreciate the Taoiseach's views as to whether that will improve the work of the Assembly and Executive alike and the implications he believes it has for the future of the system of government in Northern Ireland at the moment.

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