Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin's support of a vote for Britain to remain in the EU was not an endorsement of how the EU is currently structured or of how it operates. We are quite clearly critical of the EU and spend a lot of time inside and outside of this House, as people know, criticising it and the way in which it operates. However, placing an external border is not a solution. Popular protests at customs posts, as suggested by one of the amendments tonight, will not solve any of the problems that the Border counties and the people living along the Border clearly face.

I thank everyone who contributed to the debate this evening. I believe the contributions reflected the concern we all have for Brexit. It is important that we unite on this issue because it is of critical importance to Ireland at its people. Ireland's national interests must be defended. That has been the message that most of the speakers have articulated tonight.

The British Government's pursuit of a hard Brexit may well impose an amendment to the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which gives legislative authority to the Good Friday Agreement. I believe this is unacceptable to everyone in this House. The Good Friday Agreement was endorsed by the overwhelming majority of citizens across the island of Ireland as well as the Irish and British Governments, which are the co-guarantors responsible for safeguarding its integrity. It is not the unilateral right of any British Government to interfere with this democratically agreed Agreement nor can any British Government overrule the democratically expressed wishes of the people in the North to remain within the EU.

That is the reason this motion is so important. The Irish Government must fulfil its moral and legal duty to stand up for the rights of all citizens, including those in the North. We cannot allow the British Government's withdrawal from the European Union to undermine the protections and safeguards or the principle of consent enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement. A hard Brexit means a hard border on the island of Ireland, and that must be avoided at all costs.

We believe there is a particular onus on the Irish Government to take a stand in the forthcoming negotiations with other European Union member states. Sinn Féin wants to secure the natural position of the whole of Ireland within the EU by designating special status to the North within the European Union. The democratic mandate of the people of the North to remain within the EU must be respected through designated special status which can secure the position of the entire island of Ireland within the European Union. As a party, Sinn Féin has been on a diplomatic offensive. Like many others, I have been in regular meetings with ambassadors of the EU member states in Dublin briefing them on the need for the North to be given that special status within the EU.

Like other speakers, I, too, was on the recent trip to Brussels where we met with Michel Barnier, the chief negotiator for the Commission, and Guy Verhofstadt, the MEP who is the European Parliament representative in those negotiations. In all the meetings we had there was a broad understanding that Ireland was in a unique position regarding Brexit and I believe there was a willingness to examine this island's complex territorial issue. We know there is huge goodwill towards Ireland but that must be turned into positive action. The EU has shown its flexibility in complex territorial disputes in the past. As a priority, therefore, the Government must negotiate on the basis of ensuring that the North gets special status within the EU. The motion before the House tonight calls on it to do just that. I welcome that this will be passed and I thank all those who indicated that they will support it.

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