Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Two weeks ago, I met a number of MEPs from across Europe who were in Ireland on a fact-finding mission. They were here to meet with local communities, north and south of the Border, in order to establish the extent to which Brexit will affect them. They saw at first hand the hugely negative impact Brexit will have on Ireland, particularly the Border counties. There was no doubt but that they were unanimous in their belief that the only sensible and viable - and, yes, achievable - option in this situation is for special designated status for the North of Ireland within the European Union. The call for special status is supported by the majority of parties here too. Need I remind the House that in February this year a motion calling for the North to be given special designated status in the European Union was supported by the majority of Deputies?

Last week in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, a joint resolution was debated calling for the North to be protected from Brexit. Five hundred and sixteen MEPs supported it. That resolution is proof that we have the support of MEPs from across Europe and from across the political spectrum. Having that European support, and majority support here in the Dáil, why then is this Government not following through? Is it deliberately choosing to ignore the will of the Dáil and, more importantly, is it wilfully choosing to ignore the will of the majority of the people in the North who voted to remain? Is it ignoring the rights of all those Irish citizens in the Six Counties who are also European citizens? It is quite astonishing that Spain has been more successful on the issue of Gibraltar than our own Taoiseach has been on the North. Mór a náire.

In recent decades, the European Union has shown itself to be flexible in dealing with different forms of integration for member states within the Union and for non-member states with the Union. However, in the North's case, special designated status will not be achieved if the Taoiseach and this Government do not up the ante. They have a responsibility to stand up for the interest of Irish citizens. The Taoiseach must harness European and Irish support, stand up for Ireland and argue for designated status for the North within the European Union.

In previous contributions on this subject, I have made reference to the sense of foreboding and fear among people in Border communities, such as my own in Cavan and Monaghan, regarding the implications that all of this will have. I also made reference to and questioned the fact that this Government had begun to identify location points for full customs checkpoints along the Border with the North. What a disastrous prospect. Is there any update on all of this? Have the people tasked with this responsibility - whoever tasked them - reported back? If so, what have they recommended and what, if anything, has been decided?

It is now over nine months since the Brexit referendum took place. The result introduced a new and formidable element of uncertainty into the lives of so many. What will it mean for our communities? The answer at that point in time was, "We do not know". Nine months later, we are all still none the wiser, sadly. It is critical that the Government outline its Brexit negotiating position as soon as possible. It needs to be debated here in the Dáil. In addition, Article 11 of the European Council's draft guidelines for Brexit negotiations is extremely weak and needs to be amended to strengthen Ireland's position. I commend the proposal to address it to the Minister.

The next meeting of the European Council, on 29 April, will be critical. That will be the Taoiseach's opportunity to follow through on the wishes of the majority and fight for special designated status for the North. It is the only option and certainly the only sane and sensible approach that has been put on the table. It is the best negotiating position to have in order to minimise the consequences of Brexit for all the people of this island.

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