Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I, too, am glad to be able to speak on this very important topic, which has many conundrums. I am also delighted that Mr. Michel Barnier will be in this Chamber tomorrow and I thank Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, as Chairman of the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs, for meeting him in February and inviting him here. It is very important that he comes here because he is a very important figure in the situation in which we now find ourselves. It is the height of summer but we are on thin ice. It could be two steps forward and one step back.

I supported our accession to the EU all those years ago as a buachaill óg when I was a member of Deputy Breathnach's esteemed organisation. Much has changed since. The ideals of Europe were noble but some of its players, as far as I am concerned, got too big for their boots. This was proved here many a time but most importantly during the bank guarantee and the bailout. When our back was to the wall, the EU did not put out the hand of friendship or throw us the lifebuoy; it put the boot in. I have been very disappointed in some of the leaders of the EU since the British people made a sovereign decision according to their system by democratic vote, and let us face it, they did. I know Northern Ireland and Scotland did not vote to leave but I will address that in a minute. Theresa May has taken everyone by surprise by calling a general election. In the middle of all this, she needs to get her own mandate. However, we are getting side-threats, side remarks and snide remarks, such as that the English are not players on the team any more and that by all means we must all gang up against them. That is bad, foolish and wrong. That is not what the EU masters who designed the EU had in mind. It is very important that we have a balanced approach to matters.

I look forward to Mr. Barnier's comments tomorrow and the comments of the party leaders and speakers in response to him, the engagement and the body language. I also look forward to the outcome of the British election and to seeing whether we can get a charted course forward. The issue is just too serious for this country. From agriculture to education to all kinds of exports and imports, we have too much to lose. It has been suggested to me by some people that we should apply to rejoin the Commonwealth. It may be an abhorrent thought but perhaps we should think about it because we have too much to lose, including our nearest neighbours and our exports. There is also the thought of a hard Border between here and Northern Ireland, at Aughnacloy, Belleek, Caledon or anywhere in south Armagh. It would be unthinkable to have a hard Border now because we have motorways going through most of the areas. We also had customs posts in the past. It would be unthinkable that they would come back.

Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan noted that young people born since the peace process started do not know anything about the Troubles. I salute the architects of the peace process, including the former Minister of State, Dr. Martin Mansergh.

In addition to uncertainty in the North and all over Europe, there is a degree of uncertainty in this country regarding the position of the Taoiseach. Deputy Breathnach showed me a tweet a moment ago which indicated that the Taoiseach had informed his erstwhile friends in the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party that they will know what his position is next week. It is a kind of a triple lock and a little like the third secret of Fatima. The 100th anniversary of the visions in Fatima will be celebrated tonight, tomorrow and at the weekend. Will we ever find out when the Taoiseach will step down? I am not criticising the job he has done but he must make up his mind whether he is in or out and whether he will tell his colleagues or keep them guessing. There is too much uncertainty. We need all players on the Government team to pull in one direction, rather than in a Cork, Dublin or Mayo direction. It is a kind of tripod or merry-go-round but the issue is too serious for that.

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