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

It is simply not doable and it needs to change. It needs to be put back to the reform committee during the recess. It is not fair to anybody trying to have meaningful discussion about these issues.

There is broad agreement now about the need for an inclusive process to help define and address the many threats posed by the Brexit vote. The new Northern Secretary, Mr. Brokenshire, stated on Monday that he could see everything being handled at the level of the North-South Ministerial Council. This goes completely against the spirit of what is required. It is an issue that goes beyond business as usual and there is no way it can be dealt with by a body which meets infrequently and has a different remit. That is a body for discussion between two official entities. It is not capable of the sort of broad inclusive dialogue that we need and that the Taoiseach articulated in his response. Employers, unions, professional organisations and wider civic society have a wide range of concerns and they have to be listened to.

I put it to the Taoiseach that we should have a form of national dialogue. We do not need a politician-focused approach. Equally, we do not need the type of forums we have held in Dublin Castle in the past. It cannot and should not be State-heavy. It should include business and other members of civic society, including younger people. It should be fast, accessible and practical in terms of that dialogue around Brexit. Will the Taoiseach outline any developments on this matter and what is to be done in the next two months to move it forward?

To be absolutely clear, I do not favour an immediate Border poll, as advocated by Sinn Féin in the immediate aftermath of Brexit. Some 55% voted to remain in the European Union. One cannot automatically say that 55% would vote tomorrow morning for a united Ireland. We need to be straight-up about that. A united Ireland is about unity of people. It is about persuasion, consensus and bringing people with us, not to now inflame passions unnecessarily or create unnecessary divisions. The focus at present must be Brexit and ensuring that community groups, business people, trade unions and workers all have an input in trying to articulate their concerns and needs and then working a way through that.

I asked the Taoiseach about the UK Presidency. The British Government has stated it will not be taking that up. I put it to the Taoiseach three weeks ago whether he would consider Ireland agreeing to participate as part of a multinational replacement Presidency. Has anything happened on that matter and have we held discussions with the President of the European Council, Mr. Tusk, on what will happen next in that regard? At some stage, the Taoiseach might answer, in the context of Question No. 4, whether or not he alerted the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of the forum idea.

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