Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I also want to express my condolences to the family of Jo Cox who was murdered last week in England. It was a terrible tragedy which overshadows the tragedy of the Brexit.

The Brexit vote in Britain signifies a great negativity towards the EU in Britain. It should send a message to all EU Governments as to how they operate and conduct all EU affairs. Economically, Brexit has the potential to be a complete disaster. We are where we are, however. Now we have to ensure this decision by the British electorate does not adversely affect Ireland, North or South. We particularly want to ensure that our huge agrifood export trade with Britain is not affected negatively and cross-Border trade is protected in this new scenario.

We have already worked towards a voluntary all-Ireland label for agri-produce. We must ensure the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the European Commissioner for agriculture to push forward with this voluntary all-island label for farmers north and south of the Border. We need a commitment from the Government to ensure sustainable family farm incomes are kept up. We must ensure large quantities of our dairy produce move back and forward across the Border. We have to ensure the compatibility of regulations and standards at all stages of the production process continues, so there is a level playing field for dairy farmers on both sides of the Border.

I suggest that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine urgently call a meeting of the beef forum to address the uncertainty that this development will cause in our beef markets. A large amount of our beef goes across the Irish Sea. Farmers and our food industry are very concerned about the impact of sterling valuations and, in the longer term, tariffs, animal health requirements and competition from outside the EU negatively affecting our farming industry.

There must be co-operation between both Governments and the Northern Executive to maintain and improve the relationship that exists between North and South and the European Union, and the people of the North must be kept in mind when we are negotiating in these institutions. It is true that in time this process may lead to a referendum on Irish unity, but for now it will take the form of ensuring that the Ministers in the North can deal directly with the institutions in their own right.

Sinn Féin is no fan of unquestioning membership of the EU, and the party has been consistent in its criticism of the Government for being the voice of the EU here at home instead of being the voice of Ireland in the EU. Reform of the EU has been necessary for decades, but it is not just the EU that needs changing. We also need to change the attitude of our Government, which seems to think that, having sent representatives to Brussels, they can come back and tell us what the EU wants us to do. Never was that point so well illustrated as when we saw the Taoiseach say that he would not look for a write-down of the huge debt with which we were lumbered.

The EU can only proceed at the pace sanctioned by the democratic will of the people. The distance that has developed between the institutions and the people of Europe is not just an English thing or a Welsh thing; it is a European thing. The widening gap between the people and the EU has left space for the right wing to grow and prosper. It was not only racist and backward people who voted for England to get out of the EU, but the vacuum in leadership has allowed the likes of Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage to come to the fore. It is frightening to think that Donald Trump could be the President of the United States and Boris Johnson Prime Minister of Britain. It is also a frightening prospect that at a time when the policies of the big powers are driving people out of their homes in the Middle East and into Europe, the right wing and its ideology based on hatred and greed is coming to the fore more and more.

Our small business sector is also in turmoil at the prospect of border controls and tariffs having an impact on our exporting businesses. Currency fluctuations may move profitable enterprises, many of which are scattered throughout rural Ireland, into the loss-making bracket. They may require financial support to survive and to continue to provide employment and export their products. I suggest that the Taoiseach, when he goes this week to the EU, seek access to additional funds from the European Commission to sustain our agriculture and exporting businesses, as they will undoubtedly need support through the period ahead. England and Wales have decided to exit, Scotland wants to stay and the North wants to stay. That is the democratic mandate of the people. This is the difficulty that we all have to face today and in the future. We need a plan but we also need to put a fund in place. Many businesses in Ireland will be affected negatively by the impact of Brexit and the Government needs to seek additional supports from the EU to sustain them, because we are in a particularly dangerous position.

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