Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat. It also ignores the fact that the European Union is not the United States of Europe. It ignores the Good Friday Agreement which recognises the unique status of the North. As the Taoiseach said today, the EU is not a homogenous unit. On the contrary, part of its strength lies in its diversity. While we remain critical of the EU, including its two-tier structure, its lack of democratic accountability and a lack of proper citizen-based arrangements, it has demonstrated flexibility in coming forward with pragmatic arrangements for dealing with complex situations. For example, Greenland, a Danish dependent territory with limited devolution, voted to leave the EU in 1985 while Denmark remained as a member state. Greenland was then transferred to the overseas countries and territories status. A trilateral declaration agreement now exists between Greenland, Denmark and the EU. Some 25 overseas countries and territories have a special relationship status with the EU.

Does the Taoiseach believe it is beyond the ability of the people of this island to shape out a special arrangement for the North arising from Brexit or is he afraid of having to negotiate with the British on an issue which they have already set their face against? It is something I have experienced many times with successive Irish governments. They figure out where the British are at and then cut their cloth to meet that, instead of acting in our own national interests. There would have been no Good Friday Agreement had that approach been taken at that time. Therefore, the Taoiseach’s position is unacceptable.

No Irish government should meekly accept the rejection by a blow-in British Secretary of State that Britain will not accept a special designated status for the North. Last week, the British Government set out its stall. In the British Parliament it ignored the imperative of the Good Friday Agreement. The Conservative Party, the DUP, the Ulster Unionist Party - the favoured partner of the SDLP - and UKIP, as well as the MP for Bexley and Sidcup, James Brokenshire, combined to vote down any protections for the Good Friday Agreement. So much for the assurances to the Taoiseach by Theresa May. That is no great surprise for those of us who know that British Governments always act in their own national self-interest. They do not give a tuppenny damn about the North. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in England's treatment of the devolved Governments. Nicola Sturgeon has expressed her disquiet at the London Government’s attitude towards Scotland. The Sinn Féin Party’s experience to date, having taken part in meetings of the Joint Ministerial Committee, is that the British Government does not care one jot about the devolved administrations. Therefore, things have got to change.

Sinn Féin has repeatedly called on the Taoiseach and the Government to agree a strategic approach to the negotiations with clear political, economic and trade objectives. They must protect the interests of all citizens on the island of Ireland, defend the Good Friday Agreement, and ensure that the frontier between the EU and Britain is not on the island of Ireland. That means upholding the democratic vote in the North to remain, which is the aim of this motion. It also requires the Government, which has a seat at the negotiating table, to actively campaign for the North to have a special designated status within the EU.

In addition to tonight’s motion, to try to advance this objective, I introduced the European Communities (Brexit) Bill 2017 in the Dáil last week. The Bill places a statutory requirement on the Taoiseach to outline the Government’s approach to negotiations surrounding Brexit to the Oireachtas. I hope we will have the opportunity to debate that Bill soon.

All this is critical to the well-being and future of the Good Friday Agreement. Thus far, the Government has failed to act decisively as a co-equal guarantor of that agreement. The dangers which this presents are enormous. This British Government has no great investment in the Good Friday Agreement. We already know that it intends to bring an end to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. It is also committed to ending its relationship with the European Convention on Human Rights. These decisions will have profound implications for the agreement. None of this deals with the fact that, under the terms of the Agreement, citizens in the North have a right to Irish citizenship and, therefore, to EU citizenship. How can those rights be protected and realised?

In addition, there have been a succession of economic reports, including one recently by the ESRI, which warned that Brexit will cost tens of thousands of jobs across the island. Some 14,000 people regularly commute across the Border for work, business and education. If we do not work, act and co-operate together in setting clear targets, the trucks and goods that cross that Border every day on their way to Europe will now face customs checks from Dundalk to Letterkenny. That is a lot of jobs at risk and a very messy process.

Therefore, this is about the future. As a matter of urgency the Irish Government must set out its strategy and objectives in the Brexit negotiations. That is what this motion aims to do. It is about upholding the democratic vote of citizens on this island to remain, and to act in the national interests of the whole island.

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