Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is unfortunate, to say the least, that the Taoiseach has yet again put media management ahead of serious policy discussions. The Government's decision to publish today a document on the Brexit negotiations without any advance notice and it being shared in time for us to consider it in this debate speaks volumes. The Government has scheduled a debate on the Article 50 negotiations for one hour and 45 minutes, while simultaneously launching its policy on the negotiations. Frankly, that is absurd. The Taoiseach has invited us to a meeting at 6.30 p.m., at which he will tell us about the Government's policy on the matter we are discussing. Yet again, the Government has shown that it has no real interest in having informed discussions or respecting its obligations to the House. My party has been addressing the issue of Brexit for longer and in greater detail than any other party in the House and constructive at all times. We have used opportunities in Britain and elsewhere in Europe to promote Ireland's position. This should not be a partisan issue, yet Fine Gael is acting as if it is. Frankly, we have run out of patience with the refusal of the Government to share even basic information and the offering of briefings which reveal less than what is found in the media. The Taoiseach must realise that, irrespective of how Fine Gael addresses its leadership issues, this arrogant behaviour cannot continue. The Government is either interested in a national consensus on Brexit or it is not. If it is, we need to start having real discussions with basic information and objectives, but so far we have not seen a single piece of paper from the Government on a wide range of fundamental issues concerning Brexit. Where are the sectoral economic studies? Where is the legal work on defining the common travel area? Where are the detailed options, not just for limiting border controls but for protecting highly integrated supply chains? Where are the options for aiding market diversification and innovation?

For six years we have had a stream of so-called game changers, spun within an inch of their lives, but time after time the hype has not been followed by substance. Remember when the Taoiseach came to the House, garlanded by editorials lauding his skill, to announce a €60 billion game changer on debt? When the spinning stopped, the reality was that not only had Ireland got nothing from that supposed victory but that it had not even asked for anything. Brexit is much more important. It is the defining economic and social challenge for more than a generation. It will determine basic fundamental things about our future, yet the Taoiseach keeps playing games and focusing on spin. It may well be the case that the document he is launching will answer every question and shows exactly what he thinks we can achieve, but none of the briefings we have received suggests this is the case and my comments are focused on what is known. It is time for us to receive some proper perspective. This week's Council meeting was short and formally signed off on guidelines agreed to in advance. The unanimity of the decision is welcome and the guidelines are fair. They represent a reasonable position by the European Union and a strong statement of a shared determination that the Union will protect its interests in the negotiations.

On the specific issues raised by different countries, the guidelines are very positive and there appears to be no area in which a national concern is being ignored. On the provisions concerning Ireland, the strong support for it which has been evident to all who have been lobbying has been reflected. A number of crucial concerns have not been explicitly addressed in the guidelines, but the leaked content of the European Commission's separate negotiating directives document suggests all specific requests have been responded to. We welcome the inclusion in the leaked directives that negotiators respect the continued European Union citizenship rights of those resident in Northern Ireland. This is a matter we have raised with the Government, the Commission and the Parliament since the middle of last year. We welcome the reaffirmation of the position that Northern Ireland will be a full part of our sovereign territory should the people vote for it. An integral part of this is that it will be part of the European Union. That the Secretary of State, Mr. David Davis, has said the British Government has no issue with this is welcome. It is to be hoped those who claim to be Irish republicans but who opposed our membership of the European Union will have the basic grace to admit their error in trying to stop what is now a strong argument for those of us who advocate national unity.

What the guidelines do not represent is any form of a major breakthrough. Much of the content reflects the inevitable or the obvious. Owing to the nature of the negotiations and the approach of the British Government, we are no clearer today than we were last June on how the economic, social and political impact of Brexit will be managed. As the negotiations head into what is expected to be an 18-month phase, we have not yet seen details from either Government of what they mean when they refer to a soft border. We need less hype and more substance. We need to move on from the broad generalities to hard specifics about the post-Brexit arrangements we want on the island and between Ireland and Britain. Most important, we need to identify what form of relations fit within existing European Union law and whether we will seek changes in that law.

Since the Brexit vote, Fianna Fáil has been proactive in addressing in detail the issues which we see as central to mitigating some of the damage caused by Brexit. We strongly agree with the reported comments of President Juncker that there is no way of making a success out of Brexit and that all that can be done is to limit the harm. While we support the basic thrust of the negotiating guidelines, we are concerned about the impact of the sequencing if too inflexible an approach is taken. If we are to prevent a hard border or to properly address the unique concerns of Ireland, we need special arrangements which will be defined in terms of how they differ from the trade and personal rights provisions of the overall treaty. If there is no rapid progress on the financial settlement or no serious discussion of trade until after March 2019, this will cause serious issues for Ireland.

Clearly, if we are to avoid facing a cliff edge, we must be in a position to have what are close to final proposals ready for rapid negotiation. How are we to do this? There are many complex issues but the core two are North-South arrangements and the common travel area. Broader east-west arrangements are of serious concern also and I will return to them on another occasion. There are mechanisms for discussion of detailed North-South arrangements, but, unfortunately, these are currently stuck in a political road block. For nearly six months, Northern Ireland has had nobody at the table to represent its interests in Brexit discussions. Its political leaders have done nothing in terms of the hard work of producing detailed studies of Brexit issues and coming up with concrete proposals. Incredibly, the political institutions in Northern Ireland have failed to even publish an up-to-date analysis of the economic impact of Brexit there. The continued failure to establish a working Executive and to allow the assembly to get on with its business is causing real harm which goes beyond the cutbacks being implemented in health and education services. As a result of the recent assembly election, the DUP cannot secure a petition of concern, even with TUV support. The assembly could be doing a great deal at the moment on Brexit, in particular given the helpful comments of the DUP leader that the party also opposes a hard Border. I spoke about that earlier.

We need to know what the two Governments understand as the legal position on the common travel area in regard not only to work but also to full social and political rights. Until we see this, we can have no idea of what remains to be done and what resources are required. The guidelines and the directive state that everything agreed for Ireland must respect the European Union legal order and conform with European Union law. As there are no proposals, we have no idea whether this is a major or minor limit on what is possible. Given the refusal of the Government to make its plans available prior to the debate, there is little more of substance for us to discuss. There is no point producing a document after a debate. As such, we need to schedule a proper debate for next week. Hopefully, the Government will approach that in a more constructive spirit and in recognition that, in facing this national challenge, a bit less spin and a great deal more engagement is what is needed. The Minister is looking at me but it would have been reasonable for Deputies to have got this document yesterday or this morning.

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