Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

This week the leaders of Europe will gather in Rome to mark the founding event of what is known today as the European Union. In the face of

enormous opposition from the far right and far left, the nations of Europe built a community defined by peace and rises in standards of living unmatched in any other period. It remains a flawed entity, but its achievements can only be denied by those committed more to their ideological purity than to recognising the facts. Yet this is not a moment for celebration. Europe and the European Union continue to face grave threats, both from those within, who demand a return to a past of competing nation states, and those

outside its borders, who feel threatened by respect for democracy and human rights.

Just as with the Austrian presidential election, the Dutch election has confirmed yet again that the only way to deal with extremism is to confront it. The core values of Europe, so derided by its enemies, are strong and will continue to resonate with the people if those who believe in liberal democracy are willing to speak up and defend those values. I congratulate our ALDE colleagues in the Netherlands on their successful campaigns and the fact that the liberal block emerged the strongest. The Volkspartij voor Brijheid en Democratie, VVD, and Democraten 66, D66, did the cause of democracy and co-operation a great service.

The anti-EU alliance between the extremes certainly involves some different arguments. The right says that destroying the EU will enable a radical free trade agenda and reduce labour market regulation. The left says that destroying the EU will enable a radical anti-free trade agenda and increase labour market regulation. To the anti-EU parties there is almost no problem that cannot be blamed on Brussels and they are relentless in their promotion of this approach, even when, like for one party, a 40 year record of attacking the EU on every issue is now combined with a tactical support of membership. This is the first known case in history of politicians condemning a club as a militaristic monstrosity while angrily demanding to be in it.

There is no better demonstration of what happens when this corrosive anti-EU rhetoric is allowed to fester than the situation in Britain. For years an increasingly hysterical anti-EU sentiment was allowed to develop, with the EU being the all-purpose whipping boy for those who longed nostalgically for some bygone era of national greatness. It culminated in an ugly, dishonest and at times sinister campaign which won a narrow majority for leaving the EU. Nine months later, the Government in London and the people who most actively sought this result have not produced a single piece of paper demonstrating any clear outcome from this decision.

In case anyone is fooled by the rhetoric claiming how the economy is going fine, the facts show that deep, long-term damage is under way. A massive decline in the value of sterling and dramatic interventions by the Bank of England have given a short-term injection to the UK economy, but inflation is on its way up and many sectors of the economy have begun to slow. Borrowing is up, social spending is down and a future of radical free trade and loose regulation is being lined up.

For those on the left, like our own People Before Profit and some Independents, who supported the Tory right in their Brexit push, the reality is that they have shown common cause with policies which will do deep and permanent damage to the interests of the weakest in society. They will deny this, but the hard facts speak louder.

The declaration to be issued in Rome is, quite frankly, of no great importance.

The draft does not and cannot do more than provide a broad statement of intent, whereas specific actions are now required. Within days of the Rome event, we will begin a two-year period of negotiations where the stakes for Ireland could not be higher.

The all-Ireland dialogue confirmed the very real fears of businesses and communities on both sides of the Border about what will happen to them in the years after Brexit. For some, these fears are already being realised. Brexit throws a grenade into the middle of a system of mutual relations which has delivered much and could deliver much more if the potential of North-South co-operation were realised.

At the start of the negotiations, the only honest assessment is that the London Government is a major obstacle to mitigating the most appalling impacts of Brexit on this island. From soon after the new Cabinet took up office, its behaviour has been unhelpful. It took months before confirming fundamental points and it has taken a hardline approach to the substance of the negotiations, albeit often using a pleasant tone. Thus far, prejudice against the European Union has triumphed. Irrespective of the assurances given during the referendum on maintaining access to the Single Market and customs union, it appears the British Government's dismissiveness of the European Court of Justice has become so consuming that excluding the court from any role in EU-UK relations has become a defining issue. As such, most reasonable transitory arrangements may become impossible.

On the issue of the so-called divorce elements of the talks, it is not sustainable for London to claim the right to walk away from financial commitments it played a full role in contracting. While the figure will certainly not be anywhere near that being briefed by Brussels, it will be significant. If the hardline position being briefed from Whitehall is maintained, it will reinforce the need for Ireland to be prepared for the worst possible outcome from these negotiations. A chaotic hard Brexit is entirely possible. The ESRI has predicted that such a scenario would almost immediately reduce growth, increase unemployment and squeeze public finances in the Republic. It remains the Fianna Fáil Party's position that the Government must demonstrate that it has contingencies in place for such an outcome. There was, however, no evidence of this in the recent budget.

For Ireland, the negotiations are complex and must be approached in the context of three fundamental concerns, namely, North-South relations, Irish-British relations and ongoing relations with the European Union. Many warm words have been spoken but no concrete substance provided on how to protect North-South economic and social relations. As we saw again last week, London has taken the approach of listening intensely before ignoring the concerns of the devolved administrations. The so-called great repeal Bill is likely to be a vehicle for taking power from Brussels and consolidating it in London. There is something unsettling in people talking about how much they value the devolved administrations and then refusing to concede anything to them. This is being taken by many in the non-English administrations as condescension.

Concerns in respect of Northern Ireland will not be addressed by some technological solution which speeds up traffic at the Border. The reality of a customs border and the absence of guarantees provided by the Single Market will be still harsh no matter how seamless new regulations may prove to be. It remains the case that a form of special status for Northern Ireland and the counties with the deepest interconnection with Northern Ireland is the only way to mitigate the worst impact of Brexit. Free trade zones or special economic zones are common throughout the world. There are options available which would remove the impact of trade barriers on interlinked supply chains. To take one very small example, the need to obtain a transit international routier or TIR card every time a Donegal business exports through Derry would be an absurd imposition which could be avoided with a special status arrangement. These things can happen, however, only if someone first asks for them but it has been established that London is not seeking any special deal for Northern Ireland or part thereof.

The common travel area and barrier-free borders are essential but they cannot be the limit of what we are pushing for. The uniform message from Brussels is that Ireland needs to be more assertive in proposing solutions, rather than simply pointing to problems. In this context, we must state forcefully to London that it is taking Northern Ireland down a destructive path.

Irish-British relations are already changing profoundly. A worrying development has been that London is increasingly adopting a spirit of unilateralism. The worst example of this is in respect of Northern Ireland, with British ministers repeatedly refusing to give a basic assurance that no attempt will be made to change provisions of the peace settlement without full agreement. Fianna Fáil is absolutely clear that we will vote against any attempt to undermine the principles which underpin the settlement, as set out in the Good Friday Agreement, subsequent agreements and the Northern Ireland Act. To prevent further drift to unilateralism by London we should seek the creation of a formal and permanent structure for Dublin-London dialogue and agreement. The absence of ongoing meetings in the context of the European Union must be addressed.

Ireland is short-handed, as we simply do not have a sufficient number of people working in our diplomatic service or in dedicated Europe focused roles. While we are making more visits, we lack a sufficiently large presence to be fully on top of a large and complex negotiation and to have our voice heard in a future European Union where we no longer have one of our closest allies on many issues over many years.

This short series of statements does not provide the opportunity to delve fully into Brexit issues. Once the Article 50 process has been triggered and President Tusk has sent his response on behalf of the Council, we should hold a full debate in the House on negotiating terms before the Taoiseach attends the subsequent summit.

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