Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I very much welcome the opportunity to contribute to this evenings debate on the negotiations on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. I have spoken on this topic on numerous occasions in this House and at many events in my home county of Louth. My message has been very clear from the start of this whole process. First of all, we must not forget that it was the UK that decided to leave the EU. As a result of an internal Tory feud, a referendum was called and the UK people decided, whether rightly or wrongly, to leave the EU.

We, in Ireland, will no doubt be affected by this decision. The UK is our nearest neighbour and also our largest trading partner. Over 200,000 jobs in Ireland rely on strong UK trade. Coming from a Border county like Louth, I know more than most the possible effects of a hard Brexit. Let us be very clear, however. Brexit also presents massive opportunities for us here in Ireland. We will become the only English-speaking country in the EU. We now have an opportunity to attract even more foreign direct investment. To put this in perspective, the UK is currently the largest recipient of foreign direct investment in the EU. The last recorded figures show the UK received over €35 billion in foreign direct investment.

If we look at Ireland during the same period we received just over €5 billion. In my opinion this represents a great opportunity to attract those investors to Ireland. The choice is simple for those companies. Do they want to invest in the only English-speaking country in the EU or do they want to invest in the UK which wants to leave the EU? In my humble opinion the choice is very clear.

The work done by IDA Ireland must be applauded but we must do more to ensure these companies continue to increase their investments in Ireland. We only have to look at the papers to see that companies are already looking to move from the UK and set up their headquarters in Ireland. We must continue to support these companies and entice them to Ireland.

I know from my own constituency of Louth the effects of foreign direct investment. In Dundalk especially, we have seen many multinational companies locate to the town. The people and businesses of Dundalk know at first-hand the many benefits that large multinational companies locating to the region can bring. I would like to put on record the good work done by IDA Ireland in attracting foreign business to the region. I urge it to continue attracting this type of investment.

Getting back to Brexit, I hear a lot of commentary about the effects of fluctuations in the value of sterling and how it will affect Border regions like Dundalk. I suspect much of this commentary is just scare-mongering. We, in Dundalk and other Border regions, have long battled against the fluctuating value of sterling. There are times when one wins and times when one loses. This is nothing new. We have overcome these challenges in the past and will overcome them in the future.

Shortly after the result of the Brexit referendum became known, David McWilliams stated that the result offered Ireland the greatest opportunity of our generation. I wholeheartedly agree with him. In my view there are far more opportunities now than ever before, including opportunities for Irish businesses to expand into new markets. In addition there will be opportunities to trade on better terms with our UK counterparts. There is also an opportunity to become the main English-speaking financial services centre in the EU, in addition to opportunities to develop new business relationships with our European counterparts and exploit the void that the UK will leave.

There will also be many challenges. We must resist completely any attempts to implement a hard Border between the UK and Ireland. We must also resist the political scare-mongering that is taking place in regard to a hard Border. Political parties like Sinn Féin are only interested in political point-scoring and not in looking at the bigger picture. They are more interested in setting up mock customs borders, as was the case just outside Dundalk recently, than trying to address the real issue of Brexit.

As regards borders, the EU already has arrangements in place with countries like Norway and Switzerland. These are examples where common sense prevailed and a practical solution was put in place. In my view we will see a practical solution in respect of the UK border. The Taoiseach has secured the EU’s support to ensure that the special relationship between the UK and Ireland must be maintained.

I have listened to many different opinions on Ireland's membership of the EU since Brexit. It is my firm opinion that we must not be drawn into a debate about our own membership of the EU.

We are a proud member of the EU and that is where our future lies. We must be committed to the EU, the Single Market, the euro and our low corporation tax. We must be drawn into the UK's difficult negotiation with the EU. We must stand with our European counterparts and, at the same time, do everything in our power to protect our interests in these negotiations.

Coming from the Border town of Dundalk, and having run a very successful business in that town, I know more than most in this House the importance of a border that is open not only for trade, but also movement of people. I do not doubt for one moment that there will be serious challenges and obstacles to overcome, but I also know there will be opportunities for us as a result of the UK deciding to leave the EU. We must be ready to take full advantage of these opportunities and not lose out to other European countries, which no doubt see the same opportunities. I urge all political parties to stop the scare-mongering, stop playing political games and look at the bigger picture. We have an opportunity to grow our economy and strengthen our links with Europe and countries further afield. We must not take the same road as the UK and shut the doors to the rest of Europe. We must take this opportunity to build bridges and create new alliances.

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