Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach will attend a meeting of the European Council later this week. It is the first EU summit since the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, announced to the Tory Party conference that she intends to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty by the end of March 2017. As the Taoiseach knows, Brexit is already having serious effects on the Irish economy. The declining value of sterling is hurting Irish businesses that export to Britain. Five of this country's 60 mushroom farms have gone out of business since the referendum, including two last week alone. Brexit has serious implications for Border counties, including my own constituency of Louth, where there is real concern within the business community. Last week, we saw the prospect of price increases for consumers across the State. Has the Taoiseach considered the measures he might be able to put in place to deal with the currency crisis that Irish businesses are facing and will face in the coming period?

I suggest that the work of the all-island civic dialogue will be key to allaying our concerns. I am glad the Taoiseach eventually agreed to put the dialogue in place. I have sent him Sinn Féin’s proposals for the structure and work of the dialogue. In our view, the principal objective of the dialogue must be to secure the position of the island of Ireland within the EU, in line with the democratically expressed wishes of the people of the North. That needs to be the starting point. There should be no deviation whatsoever from that. The all-island civic dialogue must deliver an inclusive process of open policy debate that meaningfully informs the Government's political and policy responses to the British Government’s Brexit plan. Beyond that, it should agree a policy framework that shapes the Government’s strategic direction in respect of the EU-wide negotiations that will take place when Article 50 is triggered.

I am concerned that the Taoiseach has not been sufficiently strategic on this issue. Rather than waiting to see what the British Government will do, the Government should be proactive about setting out contingencies to protect and promote the national interests of the entire island of Ireland. It has yet to do this. Sinn Féin has proposed the establishment of a committee under the auspices of the North-South Ministerial Council to harmonise and maximise all-Ireland co-operation. We have also proposed the establishment of a Border economic development zone to harmonise trade and maximise returns for Border businesses alongside additional investment in the A5 and the Narrow Water Bridge, to be matched by the Northern Executive. I have commended these measures to the Taoiseach, but he has not yet responded to me. Will he tell the Dáil what plans are now in place in terms of participation in the dialogue? Will he give us an insight into its work programme? Will be provide us with the full details?

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