Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this urgent and important debate on Brexit.

I urge all Deputies to work together in the national interest and to do our best for the people on our island. I stress the words "the island". I have always said a divided Ireland is a weakened Ireland. Everyone needs to accept and listen to common sense arguments in this debate. My recent visit to Antrim, Newry, Derry and Strabane reminded me closely of this, of the relationship on the island and the importance of it, particularly in the area of economic development. That is the strong message that I got from people in the North and the Border counties in recent weeks. While I was there, I visited many disability centres in both Antrim and other places in the North. There was also a message for me there to work very closely with everybody on the island.

We are trying to rebuild the economy. It is returning. We can now see the economic situation here. We are beginning to return to good health. Unemployment is down to 6.4% from 15.2%. That is three points below the EU average. It is not all bad news. My recent visit to Scotland also supported that. There was warmth, energy and support for Ireland all over Scotland, particularly in Edinburgh and Glasgow, where I visited many expatriates living there.

We need to focus on issues and need to have priorities for this Brexit debate. The first issue for me is protecting the Northern Ireland peace process. We need to protect all the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement. We need to maintain EU support for the peace process. We need to avoid a hard Border on the island and support continued North-South co-operation. We need to minimise the impact on trade and the economy. We need to maintain close trade between Ireland and the UK and the EU and Ireland. We need to minimise the regulatory burden for goods transiting the UK. We need to improve the business environment, make us more competitive, diversify markets and have better infrastructure. We also need to pursue trade and investment opportunities from Brexit. There are opportunities.

Of course, we have major concerns. I totally respect the views of my colleagues from all parties who share my concerns. It is important that we clearly outline what we have to do. We have to maintain the common travel area, CTA. We have to commit jointly with the UK to maintain the CTA. We have to confirm rights and benefits under the CTA, secure support of our EU partners and uphold free movement of EU citizens within the European Union. We also have to be optimistic and look to the future. We have to influence the future of the European Union. We need to strengthen existing allies in the European Union and build new ones. We also need to influence future direction of the European Union and many of us have concerns about the direction of the European Union in recent years. That is something that we should challenge. I emphasise that all Deputies should challenge it. I would like to see a European Union built on equality and social justice and less militarisation throughout the European Union. That is our view and that should be our policy for building and developing Ireland's independent, neutral foreign policy, which can have major benefits and effects on conflicts throughout the world. We need to promote better awareness of the EU role, values and achievements and we need to maintain strong Ireland-UK and EU-UK relations. These are all very important issues to deal with in this Brexit debate.

Many people are being critical about the role of the Government. I totally reject that. Brexit has been on our radar since before the vote last June and we have been planning accordingly. We need to analyse and prioritise. Deep analysis has been conducted across all areas by the Brexit teams across Departments. Risk and mitigation measures were identified. Opportunities were identified and pursued. Everybody should be a Brexit ambassador. Every Minister and politician in Dáil Éireann should take that role. We undertook the all-Ireland dialogue for consultation. There were 16 events in four months. Over 1,200 delegates representing industries and organisations from across the country attended. We also had, separately in the dialogue process, nearly 200 separate meetings with industry and civic society to deepen and expand our analysis and research.

This was the message that I got from a cross-community group that I met in Antrim town during my recent visit to Antrim. Those people were very fearful of Brexit, including both small businesses and farmers throughout the North. That is a message that they asked me to bring back to Dáil Éireann. They were from right across the political spectrum and different religious and political divides. The message was that they are very concerned, particularly since they voted to stay in the European Union.

The Government held over 390 meetings with the remaining European countries and institutions as part of the programme for engagement. It has been a huge diplomatic effort with officials flying out to key capitals and hosting delegations here in Ireland for sectoral discussions to ensure that our unique concerns are well-understood. In addition, the 80 Irish embassies all around the world, especially our permanent representation in Brussels, are also making the case for Ireland's specific issues with Brexit. The work is ongoing. I challenge those who say the opposite. There have been good opportunities to discuss it. We had a good opportunity to discuss Brexit with London and with Edinburgh and as I said I was in Edinburgh spreading that message. I was in Glasgow, spreading that message. I was in the Scottish Parliament meeting ministers and spreading that message. My colleagues were in Cardiff and Belfast, using long-established connections from the Good Friday Agreement, while clearly respecting the "no negotiation without notification" principle. Structures and resources are in place. All Departments and agencies have been charged with making Brexit a priority. There is strong co-ordination at key levels right across government. Every Minister is on the same message.

What are our priorities? We have to have priorities. First, we have to minimise the impact on trade and the economy. Protecting the Northern peace process is a very important issue. Support from the European Union is very important. Support from ourselves is equally important and we have to build on this and build on diversification. We also have to maintain the common travel area. Influencing the future of the European Union is another of the priorities of the Government.

It is important that we stand up and speak up for our own country and that we accept, say and celebrate Ireland's contribution to the wider world and the positive impact that the wider world has had and continues to have on Ireland.

When one looks at the details and the facts, Ireland has experienced continued solid economic growth, with 3.5% real GDP growth forecast in 2017. Economic activity is broadly based and we now have more that 2 million people at work, the highest level since 2008. Ireland is a committed member of the European Union and the eurozone. It has prepared to meet the challenge of Brexit, which I emphasise is our duty. In a world facing complexity and uncertainty Ireland remains a stable, competitive and secure place with a well educated and productive workforce and a reputation for excelling in research and creative discovery.

As regards the peace process and the situation in the North, the principles of partnership, equality and mutual respect and the goal of reconciliation are shared objectives. These are at the core of the Good Friday Agreement and must be upheld by all parties involved in the political process in the North. The Government will continue to engage fully with the British Government and all political parties in the North in order that devolved institutions will be fully established at the earliest opportunity following the election.

A number of my colleagues referred to Ireland as a small country. In 2020 it will be seeking election to the United Nations Security Council. Our candidature reflects Ireland's continuing engagement on issues of international importance. The United Nations is central to our foreign policy and commitment to promoting our values of freedom, democracy, tolerance, community and solidarity and respect for others,

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