Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank and commend Deputy Gerry Adams and his colleagues in Sinn Féin for tabling the motion and accepting the Fianna Fáil amendment. This will add to and strengthen the motion and I ask the Government to reflect and withdraw its amendment because it will not have any effect. What we have is the Dáil, under the new political arrangement, speaking with one voice. It is at times such as this that we can reflect on how far we have come since the Good Friday Agreement.

I have not yet had an opportunity, as the Fianna Fáil Party spokesperson on foreign affairs and trade, to extend my best wishes to Martin McGuinness on his retirement and wish him a speedy recovery. I also acknowledge the work that Mr. McGuinness, Deputy Adams and many individuals in the South, including members of my party and all other parties, did to secure the Good Friday Agreement. The Agreement is our starting point and a red line. Any dilution of it must be rejected, whether this involves moves by the British Government towards diluting its human rights dimensions or a strengthening of the Border.

If I heard the Minister correctly, he dismissed the argument in favour of special status for the North. I am disappointed he did so because the North should have special status and the Government indicated previously it would support such an approach. Unfortunately, because the Secretary of State, James Brokenshire, on behalf of the British Government, dismissed special status, the Government has simply followed by stating it cannot secure special status. It cannot and should not give up that fight. The passing of an agreed motion on this matter would show that the Dáil speaks with one voice on this issue. An agreed motion should also become Government policy because the Dáil is elected by citizens in the Republic.

I have spent a great deal of time in the North, especially in the past year, and my party has engaged with groups here. As my colleague, Deputy Donnelly, stated, we also met representatives of groups yesterday which are looking to Dublin for leadership. They want the Dáil to advocate and fight for the hundreds of thousands of citizens in the North who have Irish citizenship and ensure their rights as European citizens are protected. Whether one is born in Dublin or Belfast, Irish citizenship is equal but I do not see the Government or the Minister fighting for that.

The amendment proposes the appointment of a minister for Brexit to co-ordinate work in government on this issue. This is not in any way to do down the work the Minister is trying to do but when too many people are in charge, no one is in charge. Too many things are falling through the cracks. Having a common focus through a Brexit ministry and recognising, as a Government, that the North should have special status in the European Union would be a starting point. I am greatly concerned that the Taoiseach is having bilateral meetings without insisting, as a starting point, that the North have special status. We need to do much more in this regard.

The passing of the Good Friday Agreement, the ending of terrorism and the Troubles and the normalisation of relations between Britain and Ireland showed what was possible on the island of Ireland. The British exit from the European Union is the biggest single threat and the Brexit negotiations the most important negotiations we have faced since the Agreement was signed. The Government must realise that this issue is of crucial importance for Ireland and the future of Europe. Let us be selfish for a change and try to look after Ireland.

In the past five or six years, I have consistently stated that the approach taken by this Government and its predecessor to the all-Ireland bodies established under the Good Friday Government and the British Government has been worse thanlaissez-faire. We have not used these mechanisms to their full potential. We now have an opportunity to redouble our efforts and ensure the institutions the people of Ireland, in all 32 counties, voted for in 1998 are used to their full potential.

See this speech in context