Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his question. There is no doubt that Northern Ireland the specific problems that will arise there have been at the centre of the strategy the Government has been developing. It has been one of the planks of the four priorities the Government has set, and it revolves around making sure that we do not have a return to a hard Border. It revolves around supporting continued North-South co-operation and protecting the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement. All of those have been detailed to a considerable degree, and we have had an all-Ireland civic forum to ensure all points of view are provided for. We have very specific provisions also in terms of a job strategy, with Enterprise Ireland and IDA provisions. We have a capital plan which is being reviewed by the Minister, and it will be very conscious of the infrastructure requirements that will arise from Brexit. We have revised our trade strategy very specifically to look at diversification to the markets where we have the opportunity to grow, anticipating that it will not be so easy in the UK market and that we cannot be so reliant upon it.

I applaud Deputy Howlin's efforts to look afresh at the European Union. I share his view that we need to make sure that the Union, in the future, has a far greater focus on the needs of citizens and delivering for citizens against a backdrop where we have seen a number of faultlines exposed within the structures of the EU in recent years. It is a sad situation that Europe has lost much of the commitment of ordinary people because it has been mired in trying to resolve its issues. It is very important that we start to look to the future. That debate is starting within the EU. The paper recently issued by the Commission is a first start. Perhaps it is not bold enough for any of us, but it begins to open up that debate. There will be a big obligation not just to negotiate the exit of Britain, but beginning later this year, to shape the new Europe that we want to see. I welcome Deputy Howlin's contribution to that debate, and all of the House should be party to it.

See this speech in context