Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to participate in today's debate. The Diplomatic Relationship (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017 amends a number of Acts, namely, the Diplomatic Relations and Immunities Act 1967, as amended, the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, the Immigration Act 2004 and the Employment Permits Act 2003, as amended.

The main purpose of this legislation is to enhance the efficiency and clarity of arrangements with respect to the staff of diplomatic missions and international organisations. It will do this in a number of ways, for example by removing the requirement for Government approval if Irish citizens are to be appointed to international organisations serving in Ireland; by revising the statutory provisions enabling the making of a Government order affording privileges and immunities; by providing that a period of residence in the State as a member of staff of a diplomatic mission, or as a family member of such a member of staff, is not reckonable for the purposes of naturalisation as an Irish citizen; and by clarifying the rules concerning entitlement to citizenship by birth of children born to members of staff of diplomatic missions. The Bill will also clarify the immigration status of staff of diplomatic missions, including family members, thereby strengthening the safeguards for the protection of domestic workers in foreign missions and diplomatic households and permit certain family members of employees of foreign Governments to access the labour market in this State while retaining their status under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. In essence, this legislation will improve the overall operation of Ireland's diplomatic relations.

I would like to look in more detail at the benefits that will be provided by this Bill. It will introduce more efficient procedures for legislating the conferring of privileges and immunities. It will improve the protections for domestic workers of diplomatic and consular missions and households. It will introduce much clearer immigration and citizenship rules. One of the main impacts of this Bill, when it is enacted, will be to enhance and enforce the ability of the State to meet its international requirements by transposing privileges and immunities into national legislation. This will result in less pressure on human resources in Government Departments. I am sure everybody agrees this will be welcome. The Bill will also provide clarity with regard to the State's immigration and citizenship rules. This should reduce the State's risk of exposure to further litigation. This legislation will align the State's position with the practices of the main EU member states regarding the status of foreign family members of diplomatic and consular staff appointed by those member states.

As I have said, I believe this Bill will enhance the efficiency and clarity of arrangements with respect to the staff of diplomatic missions and international organisations. When we are speaking about international relations, it is important to comment on the upcoming Brexit talks. I commend the Taoiseach on his efforts to date in clarifying this country's concerns about Brexit. His efforts have already reaped success, with the EU Brexit team confirming that an open Border between the UK and Ireland has to be maintained. As a native of County Louth, a Border county, I know more than most about the effects of a hard Border on trade and on the day-to-day lives of those who live near the Border. We must never go back to the Border of the past. It is unhelpful for other political parties to scaremonger on this issue by suggesting we might go back to the days of old when we had a hard Border with terrorists running amok. We must be clear that the UK made its own decision to leave the EU and must bear responsibility for its own actions.

While I agree that Brexit will be an enormous challenge for us in Ireland, I suggest we must also look at the positives. David McWilliams said shortly after the Brexit vote that the UK had handed Ireland one of its biggest opportunities ever. I tend to agree with him because I see opportunities for Ireland. Yesterday, a major financial services firm announced its plans to relocate 500 high paid jobs from London to Dublin as a direct result of Brexit. Many Irish companies see the opportunities that exist. When the Taoiseach visited Dundalk recently, I brought him to meet the management team of Horseware Ireland, one of the real success stories of Irish business and which exports its products throughout the world. Since the Brexit vote, it has acquired British firms as part of its ongoing expansion plans. I agree that there are major challenges ahead, particularly for industries like agriculture, but every industry faces challenges. It is possible that in the long term, it will be better that our main industries are not so dependent on the UK market. We now have an opportunity to explore new markets. Surely this is an opportunity to make Brexit work for us. I hear a lot of people in Dundalk saying that the currency fluctuation will be a disaster. I agree that it is not helpful, but we should not forget that people along the Border have been living with the fluctuating value of sterling for years. This challenge did not start with Brexit - it has been here for years. Dundalk has had particular success in overcoming these challenges.

I welcome the agreement on Second Stage of the Diplomatic Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017. As I have said, this Bill will enhance the efficiency and clarity of arrangements with respect to the staff of diplomatic missions and international organisations. It will clarify the immigration status of diplomatic staff and will improve the protections for domestic workers of diplomatic and consular missions and households. I commend the Minister, Deputy Charles Flanagan, on the hard work he has done in his role as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, including in respect of Brexit.

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