Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Today, a few dozen miles from where we are, in towns like Newry, Armagh and Enniskillen, Irish people democratically determined in the recent Brexit referendum to remain in the EU but not much has changed for these Irish people in the past 100 years. The self-determination of Irish people in Northern Ireland is being ignored and discarded by London, as it was in Dublin 100 years ago. Shockingly, what happens to the Border on the island of Ireland and our national interest is still beyond the democratic control of the people and the issue of consent, which has been the foundation stone of the peace process for the past 14 years, has been binned by Tories because it was inconvenient.

Some 1.8 million people live in Northern Ireland and all of them have a constitutional right to be Irish citizens. That means they have a right to be EU citizens. However, because of way the Brexit negotiations are to take place, it is very likely that these EU citizens will be second-class citizens because they will be isolated outside the EU and unable to exercise most of their rights. Article 9 of the Treaty on European Union states that "in all its activities, the Union shall observe the principle of the equality of its citizens, who shall receive equal attention from its institutions, bodies, offices and agencies". How in the name of God will EU citizens in Northern Ireland be able to get that equal attention? The treaty also states that citizens are equally represented at Union level in the European Parliament. Again, there is no talk at the moment about giving EU citizens in Northern Ireland a vote in European elections in the future. These are European treaties. They state that every citizen shall have the right to participate in the democratic life of the Union and that decisions shall be taken as openly and as closely as possible to the citizen. Again, how is this going to happen?

There is a precedent in this area. A European Council decision adopted in 2004 set the number of elected EU representatives in Cyprus at six. While elections are not held in the northern part of the island, almost 80,000 Turkish Cypriots who have acquired identity cards in the Republic of Cyprus are eligible to register as voters. They also have the right to be included on the special electoral list in elections to the European Parliament. We know that they are citizens and the EU has responsibility to them. At least we should be facilitating our brothers and sisters in their quest to exercise their rights as EU citizens.

The Good Friday Agreement has a number of core components. One of these is the European Convention on Human Rights. The EU has also been critical for peace in terms of providing substantial political and financial aid. This is in major danger due to Brexit. Co-operation on the island of Ireland is slowly developing. We can see it in a number of different areas. For example, Altnagelvin Hospital provides cancer care for the entire north west. Children in Northern Ireland can get some of their services in the South and a new cross-Border ambulance service literally saves people's lives on a daily basis. Many of these services are funded, part funded or at least organised by INTERREG and other EU programmes, which will be deleted if Northern Ireland is taken out of the EU.

Of course, Brexit will be a severe blow to everybody involved in business on the island of Ireland. There is no doubt in my mind that the 12 counties in the northern half of the island will be worst affected. These people already live on a man-made periphery. They already deal with two different jurisdictions and two different legal and economic systems but if the UK comes out of the Single Market plus the customs union with all the divergence that entails, it will be far more difficult for them. Let us look at some of the statistics around the all-Ireland economy. A total of €6 billion worth of trade takes place on a cross-Border basis on annual basis and 177,000 trucks, 270,000 vans and 1.5 million people travel across the Border on a monthly basis so businesses face an enterprise minefield and it is hard to fathom how they are going to get through it. Again, if we go down the route of a hard Border, what we are looking at in terms of WTO tariffs alone is 375 different tariffs just for fish. There are 375 separate tariffs in one tiny sector of a massive supply chain. The level of non-tariff barriers that will appear if the UK develops genetically modified products means that we can say goodbye to cross-Border supply chains with regard to lots of agricultural products. The UK will change its regulations on the environment or workers' rights because there will be no point in bringing back sovereignty to London if the UK Government did not look to change those regulations.

We have heard that everything is hunky-dory from the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and that lots of energy and money are put into this space to resolve the issue. InterTradeIreland carried out three surveys on the island over the past three quarters. A total of 98% of businesses on the island of Ireland surveyed by InterTradeIreland said they had no plans to deal with Brexit. The only thing that matches the size of the crisis posed by Brexit is our lack of preparedness. One of the methods to mitigate against the threats posed by Brexit is a reunited Ireland. I am heartened by the large number of different political and non-political organisations who in the past number of months have come to the same space as us with regard to the logic of unity. Even the Labour Party has strongly articulated that in recent times. I believe Fianna Fáil will participate in the local elections in Northern Ireland in 2019. I am heartened by that but until that sunny day arrives, another solution to the problem exists.

That is to ensure that we shift the EU border from the line between Louth and Donegal into the Irish Sea. The North must stay within the Single Market, the customs union and the EU.

The Brexit train is currently raging down the tracks. Logic dictates that the Government should make its hand as strong as possible with regard to what is happening. The Spanish Government did so. A few weeks ago, it achieved a veto so that no agreement can apply to Gibraltar without Spanish agreement. Spain has imposed its will on the future of Gibraltar and ensured that any future agreement must be agreeable and acceptable to Spain. The Government has achieved no such cast iron veto. It has secured positive support and good wishes. This reminds me of a television advertisement for Donegal Catch. I do not know if the Minister of State remembers it. Spain may have received the cast iron guarantee but Michel Barnier is putting our interests on file.

The Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Breen, stated that the Government opposes a hard Border. However, if it has no cast iron guarantee, all the opposing in the world might amount to nothing. He said that we have great understanding from our European brothers and sisters. However, only a few short years ago the largest transfer of wealth on this island since the plantations took place through the banking guarantee. Our European brothers and sisters did not show us much understanding at that time.

This House has given the Government a mandate to seek special status. The majority of Members have voted in recent months to seek special designated status for Northern Ireland. It is outrageous that the Government is ignoring the will of the Dáil and the people. I ask the Government to get strong on this issue and fulfil the mandate it has been given by this House to ensure that it gets special status for Northern Ireland and adds some certainty to the challenges faced by all sectors of Irish society.

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