David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Many people in the State are a little surprised that the Government is so ill-prepared for Brexit and has been for some time. I am not surprised, however, because it failed to see why people in Britain had voted for Brexit in the first place. It had failed to even contemplate that it was a possibility and that it could happen. Like on many other issues around the world and especially across Europe, the Government failed to see the impact austerity policies were having on ordinary working people and the part it had played in the eventual Brexit result. Of course, those who were advocating for Brexit were pointing to real problems, but they were not offering real solutions; they were only offering false solutions. Unfortunately, the people of Britain and people in this state now have to deal with the consequences. It is no surprise to me, therefore, that the Minister is ill-prepared.

It is also no surprise to me that the Government has absolutely failed in the case of the North. I cannot for the life of me understand how we have a Government that is not prepared to stand up for the majority in the North who voted to remain in the European Union. Perhaps the Minister might explain that to me. How have the majority in the North who want to remain in the European Union been so badly let down by the Government? They recognise that a hard or any kind of border would be bad for them. How is it that the Minister is not prepared to go to the European Union to argue for the type of arrangement Spain achieved for Gibraltar? How is it that the Minister is not prepared to argue for special status for the North within the European Union? It is because his party has always been partitionist. For his party, Ireland stops at the Border, but for many on the island it includes all of the Thirty-two Counties. The prospect of there being any kind of border will be a disaster for many counties, the entire island, cross-border trade, agriculture and so many other areas, yet the Government seems to be so ill-prepared and, at times, indifferent. It is no surprise to me, however, because the only time I hear the Government representatives talk about the North in the Dáil is when they criticise Sinn Féin. that has been their modus operandi.

I raise the issue of workers' rights which does not receive any real attention when we talk about Brexit, but it is real nonetheless. There is the prospect that a majority Tory Government in facing into Brexit will also want to dismantle many of the rights workers have such as trade union and collective bargaining rights, as well as many of the good conditions achieved for workers in the European Union. We know that many workers' rights in the North are currently much stronger than they are in Britain. For example, they have strong collective bargaining rights in the North, but what will happen after Brexit and what will the protections be? Will a Fine Gael-led Government be interested in any of these issues that will have a real impact on workers? I do not believe it will.

We have to look beyond Brexit and consider the prospect of a majority Tory Government. What impact will that have on the island of Ireland and in the North? We can only surmise that a strong Tory majority combined with Brexit will be an absolute disaster for Ireland.

As somebody from the south east who has engaged with the chamber of commerce and with many exporters and businesspeople, I can tell the Minister that they are concerned about the impact of Brexit on their businesses. They are concerned about exports, trade with Britain and access to markets. In Waterford, as the Minister may know, we have a strong food and meat processing sector. Many of those companies have already suffered because of currency fluctuations. What contingencies is the Government putting in place to support those sectors? We have put a lot of time into building up clusters of industries in different parts of the country. Food is one of the big strengths of the south east, yet it is one of those issues that will be clearly under threat if Brexit happens. When we go under the bonnet of what all of this means for Ireland, these are the issues we need to deal with. I have not seen a scintilla of evidence from the Minister or his Government that they are remotely prepared for any of these issues.

I will finish as I started, by asking if, maybe for the first time in his life, the Minister might recognise that Ireland does not stop at the Border. The Minister might take an active interest in what happens in the North. While a Tory Government in Britain is prepared to stand up for a minority of people in the North, he and his Government stand by and do nothing for the majority, who want to remain part of the European Union, who recognise that a hard Border or any kind of Border is not good, and who see the negative impacts the Tory Government and Brexit will have on them and their families. They receive indifference from the Irish Government. Maybe in his reply the Minister will explain why that is the case.

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