Dáil debates

Thursday, 13 April 2017

European Council: Statements

 

10:45 am

Photo of Pearse DohertyPearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is no doubt Brexit poses the biggest threat to the socioeconomic future of the people of this island. It also has the potential to do serious damage to the Good Friday Agreement. The British Government has ignored the democratically-expressed will of the people of the North. The majority of the people in the Six Counties voted to remain in the European Union. Theresa May is pushing on with her Brexit strategy as if this vote did not happen.

The threat to Ireland arising from Britain's divorce from the European Union does not register in any substantive way with the British Prime Minister. London is intent on pulling a part of this island out of the European Union despite the dire consequences this will have for everyone across Ireland. We should not be surprised by the approach taken by a Tory government. However, the Irish Government cannot be excused for an approach to Brexit which ignores the rights of citizens in the North and abdicates its responsibility to uphold their democratic vote to remain in the European Union. The Sinn Féin president, Deputy Gerry Adams, asked the Taoiseach last week if he had stated to the British Government that it should accept the vote of the people of the North. It is clear he has not done so and will not do so. This approach is in line with his Government's failure to hold the British to account for their policies in Ireland.

The letter triggering Article 50 and the European Council draft negotiation guidelines demonstrate the Government's negligence when it comes to representing the interests of the Irish people. The article relating to Ireland in the draft negotiating guidelines, Article 11, is vague, ambiguous and conditional. It contains little that would provide confidence that Ireland's unique position is appreciated or that the interests of the island as a whole will be protected. This is far from satisfactory.

The people of Ireland have an expectation that the Government will demand more, argue for more and achieve more in these crucial negotiations. The Spanish Government has already shown what is achievable if one approaches the Brexit challenge with a concrete commitment to upholding national interests. The contrast in the language and substance of Article 22, which relates to the future of Gibraltar, when compared with Article 11 is striking. Article 22 is clear, committal and definitive. It states that after Brexit, no agreement between the EU and British Government may apply to Gibraltar without the agreement of the Spanish and British Governments. It is clear, when one compares the two articles, that the Government has a responsibility to adopt a much stronger negotiating position. Not to do so would represent a serious dereliction of the Government's duty to fight its corner on behalf of the people of this island.

The veto achieved by the Spanish Government in regard to Gibraltar is exactly the type of substantive commitment that the Government should have sought in respect of the North. It would be in keeping with its responsibility for the North under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, yet the Taoiseach did not even raise this possibility for Ireland. In a continuation of the Government’s feeble approach, the Taoiseach has just returned from Europe with very little to show for his efforts. The Government's negotiating strategy is non-existent and the Taoiseach looks very weak because he has not adopted a solid and meaningful negotiating position for Ireland. He is happy to collect vague expressions of understanding of Ireland's unique position when it comes to Brexit and amass a catalogue of non-binding declarations of support. Pats on the back and thumbs-up from other EU leaders will not protect the people of this island from the impact of Brexit.

The solid and meaningful negotiating position, which the Government must now formally adopt, is designated special status for the North within the European Union.

11 o’clock

It is the only solution that deals with the intricacies of the problem. It is the only way to stop a hard economic border on the island of Ireland.

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