Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As Deputies are aware, a referendum an EU membership was held in the UK on 23 June 2016. Conscious of its relevance for Ireland, the Government played an active role in advance of the referendum. This included working to ensure a far-reaching agreement between the UK and EU last February, with a view to enabling the then Prime Minister, David Cameron, to campaign for a vote to remain in the EU and engage with the Irish community in Britain, who had the right to vote in the referendum, to ensure they were fully aware of the benefits of EU membership and the implications of a withdrawal. The Government was unambiguous in its view that the UK's departure from the European Union would have significant political, economic and social implications for Ireland. Clearly, therefore, the outcome of the referendum was not what we would have wished. However, we fully respect the democratic decision of the UK electorate.

Well before the UK referendum, the Government had started to analyse the main areas of concern and to prepare a contingency framework. Following the referendum, this work intensified and since last summer there has been very extensive engagement with all sectors across the island of Ireland, including 16 all-island civic dialogue events involving over 1,200 representatives, as well as nearly 300 other meetings with individual stakeholders. Restructuring took place, additional resources were put in place and all Departments and agencies were charged with making Brexit a top priority. There is now strong co-ordination on Brexit at key levels across Government.

Through the Cabinet committee on Brexit, which I chair, and which brings together all relevant Ministers and Departments, there has been a thorough analysis of our concerns, an identification of risks, mitigation measures and opportunities and the development of our negotiating priorities. These priorities are to minimise the impact on our trade and the economy, to protect the Northern Ireland peace process, including maintaining an open border, to continue the common travel area with the UK and to work for a positive future for the European Union. Our approach is to work towards the best possible outcome in the negotiations, maintain a close and constructive economic and trading relationship between the EU and the UK and to continue intensive work to make our economy resilient and future-proof.

We have already taken important steps to repair our economy, including budget 2017 and the Action Plan for Jobs 2017, our new trade and investment strategy. Brexit will, of course, be a critical factor in our longer-term economic strategy. A new ten-year capital programme is in preparation. We are reviewing our 2025 policy to align our enterprise base and policies to reflect new international realities. We are in active discussions with the European Investment Bank regarding a potential increase in investment in the country. In the meantime, the Government's enterprise agencies will continue to work with exporters and potential investors, helping them to deal with issues as they arise, making companies more competitive, diversifying market exposure and upskilling teams.

Last Wednesday, 29 March, as expected, and in accordance with Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union, Prime Minister May formally notified the European Council of the intention of the UK to leave the EU. This means that we have entered a new phase and the two-year exit process has commenced. I was pleased that our particular concerns, including those relating to the Good Friday Agreement, were acknowledged in some detail by Prime Minister May in her letter. This reflected our engagement with the UK, including my meetings with the Prime Minister through the mechanisms set up under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and those established following the 2012 joint statement, while of course respecting the principle of no negotiations without notification agreed with our EU partners last June.

Now that Article 50 has been triggered, we will publish before the end of this month a consolidated paper providing more detail about our priorities and approach to the negotiations ahead. On Friday, 31 March, in response to Prime Minister May's letter, the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, circulated a draft EU negotiating guidelines among the 27 remaining EU Heads of State and Government. These outlined the main issues to be addressed in the withdrawal negotiations and the principles and approach of the EU side. The draft guidelines will be discussed at ministerial and senior official level over the next few weeks, and the 27 EU Heads of State and Government will meet as the European Council on 29 April to agree them.

I am pleased that the draft guidelines include a very strong acknowledgment of Ireland's unique and special circumstances, the need to protect the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement and our intention to maintain bilateral arrangements with the UK, such as the common travel area. It is important to highlight in the House that the resolution on the Brexit negotiations adopted by the European Parliament on Wednesday also contains strong references to our specific concerns. These outcomes bear testament to our programme of strategic engagement over recent months, which has included almost 400 meetings with EU partners and the EU institutions in which we have highlighted, explained and contextualised the unique and special circumstances pertaining to Ireland and the need for these to be addressed in the upcoming negotiations. This programme has included engagement by me as Head of Government, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs, other Ministers and our team of experienced senior officials and diplomats.

This engagement has also enabled us to gain a useful understanding of the objectives of other partners and to start to look more closely at potential alliances for the negotiations and more generally for the future. Once the guidelines are finalised, a more detailed negotiating mandate for the European Commission will be agreed by Ministers in May, and negotiations with the UK can then begin. It is important to note that the European Commission Brexit task force, headed by Michel Barnier, will lead the day-to-day negotiations, but the European Council, that is, the 27 Heads of State and Government, will have constant oversight of the process. They will discuss and review the negotiations regularly, revise the guidelines as required and take all final decisions.

As the member state with, arguably, the most at stake, we are fully engaged in this process and are in regular contact with EU institutions and our EU partners. I have just come from a meeting with the President of Croatia, the most recent EU member state. On Thursday, I will meet with Chancellor Merkel in Berlin.

Under Article 50, the exit negotiations, which will address issues such as the status of EU citizens living in the UK and UK citizens living other member states and the UK's financial commitments to the EU, as well as issues relating to the Border, should be concluded within two years, including time for the agreement to be approved by the European and UK Parliaments. While I believe that the exit negotiations should also include discussions on the future relationship between the EU and the UK, the many complex and important issues involved, including trade, regulatory convergence and sectors such as fisheries, energy and deviation, are unlikely to be resolved for a considerable period of time.

It is my strong view, as I have stressed in my discussions, that a transitional arrangement between the exit agreement and the future relationship agreement will be required to ensure an orderly exit and provide certainty for our citizens and businesses. While we have achieved our goal so far, we are only at the beginning of what will be a very long and difficult set of negotiations. We will need to remain united and focused with a view to ensuring that the unique circumstances of Ireland and its particular concerns arising from Brexit continue to be understood and addressed.

In any objective assessment, it is clear that European Union membership is central to the success of our open, competitive economy and the basis for much of our political and social progress. Our place must remain at the heart of Europe and we will work with all our EU partners as part of the EU team to achieve the best possible outcome. These negotiations are not a case of Ireland versus the UK, Ireland versus the EU or, indeed, the EU versus the UK. Many of our EU partners share our concerns and want to achieve as close a relationship as possible with the UK. For our part, we are determined to maintain our strong relations with both the European Union and the United Kingdom. Despite the regrettable lack of agreement to date to establish an Executive in Northern Ireland, we will continue our process of engagement with a view to ensuring that the negotiations take full account of all-island issues and Northern Ireland. Our Ministers understand the business of Europe and the diplomats and officials who support them have extensive experience of challenging international negotiations. We understand our priorities and have our structures in place. We have strengthened our relations with our EU partners and the EU institutions and we are well prepared for the challenges that lie ahead.

See this speech in context