Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This week, we have a Government in crisis while the United Kingdom is only weeks away from triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty. It does not bode well for Ireland that collective responsibility in our Government has broken down just a the country faces a challenge that will define it for decades to come. For the past few months, the Dáil has been left in the dark on Brexit, despite the Taoiseach having appointed himself the actual minister for Brexit.

Months ago, I requested, and the Taoiseach agreed, that we be provided with weekly updates in this House on all that was happening in regard to this matter but that has not happened. I received my first briefing from officials from the Department of the Taoiseach, comprehensibly on our state of preparedness, yesterday. While the briefing was offered last week I was unable to take up the offer until this week. We need to improve in this area. While there are questions that need to be asked in terms of our state of readiness, arguably the state of readiness of Northern Ireland is infinitely worse. It has been plunged into an Assembly election. The relationship between the DUP and Sinn Féin has become politically toxic in the context of that election.

That this motion has been tabled by Sinn Féin at this time is interesting. The people of Northern Ireland voted to remain part of the European Union. The largest nationalist party in Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin, failed to register for the Brexit campaign with the United Kingdom Electoral Commission. According to Mick Fealty registering with the Electoral Commission allows a party or an individual to become a registered campaigner and to spend more than £10,000 on referendum campaigning during the election period. That the largest nationalist party in Northern Ireland decided it did not want to spend more than £10,000 on the campaign indicates that it did not take the campaign seriously. It was taken for granted.

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