Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. It is important to reflect on what a profoundly significant moment today is. In this Chamber in 1972, when the Dáil and the Government made the decision to hold a referendum to enter what was then the EEC, the then Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, said the following: "I am confident that the decision we take will reflect our people's faith in their capacity to help fashion for themselves and for future generations of Irish men and women a better Ireland in a better Europe." The then Leader of the Opposition, Liam Cosgrave, said that he believed Irish people "generally subscribe to the idea of European unity, to the aims and objectives of bringing the countries of Europe closer together and of trying to eliminate the dissensions and causes of conflict that have bedevilled and affected Europe". My contention is that if those views were relevant then, they are even more so now. The Irish Government's view on the decision of the British Government to leave the European Union is very clear. We believe it is a decision that is bad for the EU and the United Kingdom. However, the British people have made their mind up and this process is now under way.

Within all of that, we are absolutely clear on what is the Irish national interest. This has been enunciated by the Taoiseach on many occasions. At the core of it has been our recognition of the Good Friday Agreement, of no return to the hard Border of the past, and of the deep value of the freedom of movement of people between Ireland and the United Kingdom. It is precisely because of the work the Government has done that we are now seeing those values and aims being recognised, for example, in the recent statements of Prime Minister May on the matter. It is precisely because of this work that we are seeing Michel Barnier, who will be leading the separation negotiations on behalf of the European Union, give particular recognition to the role of the Border and Northern Ireland as an element that he wants to see resolved in the first cluster of negotiations to take place following the triggering of Article 50. The Government is absolutely clear on the need to recognise the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland and the need for the Good Friday Agreement to be structured into any future relationships, and it is acting accordingly.

For the record, when parties in the Dáil were speaking about joining Europe, the position of Sinn Féin at that point was "Ireland free, no EEC."

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