Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Like many people, I followed the count with great interest last Thursday night. I watched until 2.30 a.m. or 2.45 a.m. in the expectation that the Remain camp would overtake the Leave camp. I expected that the establishment in Brussels and London would get a great shock and perhaps do something about it subsequently, but I did not think we would be faced with the circumstances we face today. The British people have spoken clearly and we must respect their decision. The massive turnout of 73% in England, 72% in Wales, 63% in Northern Ireland and 67% in Scotland shows that the people of the UK were energised and passionate about the decision they were making. While the appeals to xenophobia and racism from elements of the Leave campaign were deplorable and disgraceful, it cannot be disputed that the mainstream campaign led by Michael Gove, Boris Johnson and Priti Patel tapped into the profound anguish and distress of working people, especially in the north and centre of England, who have felt ignored and abandoned by metropolitan and big business elites and even by the British Labour Party and the labour movement, which have been historic community organisers and defenders of such people. Indeed, it is probable that the roll-out by the Remain campaign of failed and distrusted luminaries like John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown put the final nails in the Remain coffin. I noted this sense of alienation at first hand in Yorkshire during the British general election of 2015. While nothing better was expected from the disgraced Liberal Democrats or the so-called nasty party Tories at the time, the most glaring element of that election was the failure of Ed Miliband and Ed Balls to recover authority and trust after the disastrous Iraq debacle and the Brown and Blair years. Of course, nearly 40% of Scottish people and over 44% of our countrymen and women north of the Border voted the same way as the majority of people in England and Wales.

It is clear that because of our shared geography and history, our economic, cultural and family connections with Britain will strongly continue. As the Taoiseach noted earlier, the impact of Brexit on Ireland and on our northern counties is by far the most profound of any of the remaining 26 or 27 countries. Therefore, we must insist that the common travel area will continue and that no offensive border will be resurrected in our country. The massive strides we have made towards the peaceful reunification of the Irish people cannot be endangered in any way. We must liaise closely with the Northern Ireland Executive and the Northern Ireland Assembly to ensure the benefits of the Single Market continue for all our nation. Our massive food and agricultural trade with the UK cannot be endangered by the kind of foolish diktats we have heard from Brussels in the past 48 hours. While negotiations between Britain and the EU may be long and complex, it would suit us best by far if the UK were to remain part of the Single Market. This applies regardless of whether any new British Government opts for a Norwegian, Swiss or Canadian-style relationship with the EU. In any event, we cannot allow the common travel area or our massive food exports, which have been referred to by many Deputies, to be damaged in any renegotiation of Britain’s status with the EU.

The attempt by the EU elite to introduce a common consolidated corporate tax, which was initiated at the height of austerity, is a direct threat to Ireland’s remaining fiscal independence and cannot be countenanced. The distinguished former finance minister of Greece, Yanis Varoufakis, who visited this country recently, correctly judged on Saturday that the Leave side won because "too many British voters identified the EU with authoritarianism, irrationality and contempt for parliamentary democracy while too few believed those of us who claimed that another EU was possible". Like me, Mr. Varoufakis is a critical remainer. More than most, he understands the suffering imposed on Greece over the past seven years on foot of the ruthless determination by the Brussels and Berlin elite to make Greeks pay for the appalling errors in the creation of the euro currency, especially the lack of a euro central bank or financial regulator. Similarly, Portugal, Spain, Italy and even France have suffered in this ongoing austerity. We were threatened with a financial bomb going off in Dublin. We remember hearing from the Minister, Deputy Noonan, and his predecessor, Brian Lenihan, in this House about the kind of pressure being imposed on us. Where were the fine ideals of the Rome and Amsterdam treaties throughout this European bullying and threats?

As Deputy Howlin noted earlier, it was disheartening and disrespectful for the foreign ministers of the six founding nations to meet over the weekend. Surely the EU is its 27 or 28 member states or it is nothing. Several times in this House, I raised with the Taoiseach the fitness of Jean-Claude Juncker to be the head of the European Commission, given the systematic use of tax evasion organised by the Luxembourg Government over many years, as revealed by the Lux Leaks scandal. Who is he to ask for Article 50 to be triggered immediately? Likewise, I am disappointed that Martin Schulz MEP, as the leader of the socialists and democrats in the European Parliament, has not decided to stand back and take a considered view. The Acting Chairman and I were both in attendance when Mr. Schulz addressed this House a couple of years ago. I am proud to work closely at European level with Nessa Childers MEP, who is a member of the socialists and democrats group.

Now is the time to take our time. The Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers need major reform if the EU is to reach down and be visible and accountable to the people of areas like Yorkshire and the English midlands, who felt they could not remain in the EU governed by unaccountable London and Brussels elites. I agree with the former Taoiseach, John Bruton, that the head of the Commission should be elected. Perhaps we should consider the election of all the members of the Commission. With the exception of a few progressive personalities, the roll of Commissioners is a litany of non-entities and political hangers-on, including from Ireland. Many of them, including Peter Sutherland, went on to make fortunes on foot of their stints as Commissioner.

This House needs to be vigilant in defending Ireland’s interests at all costs. I do not have much confidence in the Brexit contingency plans announced by the Taoiseach on Friday. It seems that things are being rushed at the last minute. Perhaps the Acting Chairman might suggest to the Taoiseach and other members of his party that a Cabinet Minister should be put in charge of all this because it is so serious for our country and for this House. The contingency arrangements we will have to use, perhaps when we are negotiating on our own, must be fully thought out and respectful of our deep economic, political and social interests.

See this speech in context