Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As co-chair of the Fine Gael Brexit committee and having engaged with thousands of members of the public, interested groups and in particular, businesses throughout the country, we are all speaking with one voice in respect of this debate, which I appreciate is very focused on our unique relationship with Northern Ireland.

That is something that is not necessarily commonplace in this Chamber. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Murphy, mentioned it with regard to European politics. This is a time to put aside our ideological differences and accept that this is something we all need to work on together.

I entirely accept the premise that we should have a unique relationship with the Six Counties and with Westminster in the future with regard to how Northern Ireland is treated. However, the reality is that while it remains a part of another jurisdiction, we do not necessarily have a say in the matter. That is regrettable and something we all wish to change, but we must deal with the realities of today. In the intervening period, we have to continue as Houses of Parliament, as Government and as an Executive in further informing our European partners of the importance of the special relationship that we have and of its most important aspects, which are the peace process, the Good Friday Agreement and everything that flows from that. I believe that is a position that we can all agree upon.

In short time I have remaining I will refer to the request for a specific Minister for Brexit. Having engaged with thousands of people across the State, it is very clear that the concerns are so broad and the issues so great that no one man, woman or even Department, which would have to be established in record speed, would be capable of dealing with this issue. It has to be led from the top and must involve all Ministers. I have engaged with all Ministers and Ministers of State on this matter. The expertise that they bring to the table means that we cannot have one individual person as a Brexit Minister. It has to be a whole-of-Government and a whole-of-Parliament approach to ensuring that Ireland and Northern Ireland are treated in the most appropriate fashion by our 26 other European colleagues.

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