Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the tabling of the motion by Sinn Féin on what Brexit means for the Good Friday Agreement and the people of northern Ireland and what the Irish Government needs to do about it. I would also like to acknowledge Sinn Féin's position on accepting our amendment.

In the past two hours, the Taoiseach described Brexit as the most important negotiations in our history. What is at stake?

It is the following: the close ties between our nations; jobs in Irish companies that trade with the UK, including jobs in manufacturing, tourism, transport, professional services, technology and much more; the livelihoods of farmers and of men and women working in the agrifood sector; and public moneys that are badly needed for investment in public services, health, education and infrastructure. The people of Northern Ireland face all these threats too, and more. Their economy, jobs and ability to invest in services and communities are at risk as are their rights, including their right to be members of the European Union and their rights as citizens of the European Union to move, work and do business freely within the EU.

Yesterday we met a civil society delegation from Northern Ireland. It is concerned that the deepening deprivation in some communities is leading to a rise in young people joining paramilitary groups and that sectarianism is reappearing in the workplace. It is concerned that the bill of rights mandated under the Good Friday Agreement is still not being implemented, that the peace process is coming under pressure and that Brexit will make all these things worse. It would not be fair to say that this Government is doing nothing on Northern Ireland in the context of Brexit. It would be fair, however, to say that the Government is not doing nearly enough. This view is in line with that of civil society, which is that the Irish Government has been detached from the Good Friday Agreement for the past six years. The allegation was made yesterday - it is not my allegation - that this Government is becoming a mouthpiece for the British Government.

The motion before the House calls for Northern Ireland to be designated a special status within the EU. We agree with this call and want to further debate what it means. This Government's response to the challenges and opportunities of Brexit as they pertain to Ireland and Northern Ireland has been too vague. What does special status actually mean? What sectors will be worst hit? What rights of the people of Northern Ireland are at risk? What sort of invisible Border can actually stop people and goods from moving across it? What can farmers and businesses actually do to protect their incomes?

Article 50 will be triggered in a few weeks' time and we have to move from generalities to specifics. The Fianna Fáil motion accepts the motion before the House and adds detail on what is required. It calls on the Government to negotiate for the North of Ireland to be designated a special status within the EU; to secure the ongoing realisation of rights of citizens in Northern Ireland to avail of Irish and, by consequence, EU citizenship; to safeguard the four freedoms of movement of goods, workers, capital and services; to protect ongoing access to EU institutions, including the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Court of Human Rights and EU sectoral agreements; and to protect and ensure the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements. The motion calls on the Government to maintain future funding streams of PEACE and INTERREG financing; to enter any forthcoming negotiations in co-operation with our EU colleagues recognising the vote of the majority of citizens in Northern Ireland to remain within the EU; and to ensure that the Amsterdam treaty, as it relates to the common travel area between the UK and Ireland, is respected fully and upheld.

We need to beef up Ireland’s current approach to Brexit. As a matter of urgency, a Minister for Brexit at Cabinet level should be appointed and tasked with leading a whole-of-Government response to the challenge of Brexit. The "every Minister is a Brexit Minister" approach has been the driving force to date behind the vagueness in the Government's approach.

We need to be absolutely clear that special status for Northern Ireland in the context of the Brexit negotiations is by no means guaranteed. The UK does not support it, but rather a much weaker recognition of so-called unique circumstances. The Northern Ireland Secretary of State has specifically stated that he believes a special status would be "the wrong approach". Therefore, the Irish State, together with the Northern Ireland Assembly, must fight for it. They must fight for the rights of Northern Ireland citizens as EU citizens and the protection of workers rights; for an invisible border that can be implemented in the real world; for the preservation of the common travel area; for the protection and progress of the peace process; for ongoing EU PEACE funding; for the protection and strengthening of trade in agrifood and other industries in the North and South; for the strengthening of sectoral ties between the North and South, including in energy, health, education and transport; for support to the regions in the Republic that will be most affected by Brexit; and, critically, for the protection and ongoing implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.

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