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

I put it to the Taoiseach that there is a view abroad that not only should the Council lead the process but it should appoint the negotiators on behalf of the Council to engage with the British Government on negotiating the Brexit situation, both the exiting process and the parallel process of building a new relationship with the United Kingdom. Ideally, such a relationship would be something along the lines of the European Economic Area, particularly in view of the deal that was done for Norway, because Britain's access to the Single Market would benefit immeasurably the island of Ireland. Anything short of that will cause difficulties. These are issues for the incoming British Prime Minister, because they will have to swallow hard in the end of the day if the four pillars are to be observed in facilitating access to the Single Market. This is important, because there has been some disquiet about the performance of the President of the European Commission, Mr. Juncker, and some of his commentary.

In the immediate aftermath of the result, we needed cool heads. First, one should always accept the democratic wishes of a people. Whether one likes it or not and whether one agrees or disagrees, there should be respect for the will of the people as articulated in the ballot box. That is the starting point in such a situation. We all have made our contributions in terms of how it all happened, but the key point is that this is the starting point. The Commission has, to a certain extent, compromised itself even before we start. There has been a sense of getting even, or "Let us move on quickly and move them on." That kind of approach is not sane or sensible in the longer term.

Looking at the longer term with regard to European Union coherence, the bottom line is that there needs to be a positive and constructive trading relationship with the United Kingdom. Over time, that relationship needs to be built on proper values such as human rights. Governments and democracies change, and therefore one must create a framework that can be adaptable over time to a changing political situation in the United Kingdom, which can certainly happen.

In terms of these negotiations, will the Taoiseach indicate if he has sought for Ireland to be represented on a negotiating team, given our unique and special trading, economic and social relationship with the UK? We have a case to make that we should be on a negotiating team or have a representative on that team. We have a unique contribution to make to the all-island dimension. Europe has been an important backdrop to peace in Northern Ireland, including the PEACE fund and the other various funding mechanisms. At this stage we should be working on a process that might seek to retain European Union supports for PEACE fund initiatives, reconciliation within the North and North-South engagement, interaction and projects. We should put that proposition to the European Union, notwithstanding the UK wanting to exit.

We should also put the proposition that there is a special issue with Northern Ireland. I do not know how the United Kingdom would react to this but we should push the idea that under the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, the consent of the people in Northern Ireland is explicitly called for in terms of a united Ireland and the future of Northern Ireland. Now, against the will of a majority of people in Northern Ireland, it will be taken out of the European Union. There is an issue in terms of the future of Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland that is worth pursuing with the European Union. It relates to the island economy and its political dispensation, and it is not something that can be glossed over as this issue unfolds. The more people begin to realise the impact of Brexit - it is becoming more immediate by the day with real and hard impact on the streets and farms - the more people may begin to consider this in a different way, both within the North and across the United Kingdom.

Is the Taoiseach's team in the Department looking at creating new structures for civil society dialogue, which has been underdeveloped in the North? The parties were not enthusiastic about the civil society dialogue element of the Good Friday Agreement and it has been allowed to wither. It never got off the ground. Even politicians have said to us over the years that it is not something they want to entertain. They were not too enthusiastic about it, truth be told. Now, it is to be regretted, and I urge the Taoiseach to develop mechanisms for a robust civil society dialogue involving trade unions, farmers and business elements, as well as people in general. We should get a dialogue going both North and South about the Brexit issue.

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