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

The track record of successive Governments from many parties, excluding the Deputy's party, has been to play a leadership role successfully in dealing with the challenges in the North and to try to create an environment in which the peace process can prosper. It is such a pity that the spirit and tone we hear from Sinn Féin in the North regarding the role the Government is playing in trying to secure the interests of Northern Ireland could not even be mirrored minutely here as we are subject to the divisive tone of Sinn Féin Members in this Chamber continuously regarding the challenges facing this island.

The challenges are great but there will be opportunities. However, our country has shown itself capable of responding to similar challenges in the past such as when we decided to move away from a protectionist approach to running the economy to one that embraced the outside world. We faced the same challenges when the country decided to enter the Single Market and to enter the euro when the British Government decided not to do the same. The approach that was used then and the broad change that happened in our economy and in our society to ready the country for the challenge will be needed again.

What the Government is doing and the actions it has taken can be broken into two categories. The first is what we need to do externally. Many speakers pointed to the statements made by Prime Minister May, the draft mandate that has been laid out by the European Council and the debate in the European Parliament. Does the House think these are happening by chance? They are happening because the Government and our ambassadors are out there putting the Irish case forward. The Council in its draft mandate made reference to Ireland and its needs because of the efforts of the Government and some other Members of the House. This happened because we have a Taoiseach and a Government that have engaged with an entity that Sinn Féin has been against for 40 years to try to ensure the country and this island are recognised in the new environment into which we are moving. The second category is the need to develop different and new allies. The British Government on many occasions has been most closely aligned to Ireland on issues it has raised. We will have to develop further alliances depending on the policy area in which we are looking to advance our interests.

The issue regarding the North, over which no party has a monopoly, is at the heart of our national interest.

As Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I have been directly responsible for the status of European funding programmes on both sides of the Border. In the immediate aftermath of the Brexit result, the Government secured a framework within the European Union to ensure current commitments are met and that they are funded to offer clarity on them up to 2020. What we are now going to do is begin the work within the European Union of looking to succeed and deliver replacement programmes based on work that happens elsewhere and outside of the European Union.

Here at home, as the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, has outlined, the challenges and needs are great. For all of the deep challenges we face now, it is irrefutable that we would be in an even more challenging place to deal with them if we could still not borrow to fund public services and unemployment was increasing. That neither is happening at least offers a platform upon which we can build. The need for diversification, as outlined by Deputy Breathnach, is great. We will have to make choices and decisions regarding how we support industries and sectors and parts of the country that will need further supports in the future. The scale of those challenges will be far bigger than anything we face in the current debate on water. We need to put those kinds of challenges into context because they are approaching the country and the economy and we will need to respond. This is a challenge and a change that Irish companies have already responded to in the past. We should look at the success of a company such as Glanbia and how it has gone ahead with a diversification programme. We should look at companies such as Cement Roadstone and some of our retailers and the way they have diversified abroad. It is a model and a challenge that our country has responded to in the past. We will need to do that again.

We cannot be under any doubt, which few speakers are, regarding the scale of that challenge and the scale of the turbulence and volatility that is abroad. The order we have taken for granted in the past may not be there in the future. It is by no means certain that the generations that follow us will have the kinds of political freedoms that we have been privileged enough to experience. The political institutions that we have assumed to be stable may now be experiencing a challenge, the scale of which is only apparent to us now. All of us in the House, who care about and want to see a form of centrist politics work, need to be aware and acknowledge the scale of the challenge, which most Members of the House do.

I will end where I began with the writer I referred to a moment ago. He concluded in his book, "When a storm becomes too fierce and the wind blows your boat towards the open sea, it is sometimes better to have a good compass than an anchor." From an Irish perspective, we have had a compass. We have had the compass of being members of the European Union, of being firm and successful members of the Single Market, and using the euro as a platform on which Irish companies and Irish farmers can ensure the valuable goods and services they have created can be easily bought and sold by other parts of Europe. It has been clear where we stand in that debate. It has been clear about the fact we have a European future. I want to see one that will encompass all parts of our island. Being clear about that horizon when so much change and volatility is happening elsewhere is the best compass we have for navigating waters that at the moment are volatile but that it is increasingly likely will be stormy in the coming period. The Government and many Members of the House know where we stand in that debate. That kind of steadiness will be essential in the debate and choices to come.

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