Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I very much welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I have spoken on this topic on numerous occasions in this House and at many events in my home county of Louth.

We must not forget that it was the United Kingdom that decided to leave the European Union. A referendum was called and the UK people decided, whether rightly or wrongly, to leave the EU. We do not want them to leave the EU, the Single Market or the customs union but, ultimately, that is a decision for them. We have a strong relationship with both the EU and the UK and we intend on keeping both.

Over 200,000 jobs in Ireland rely on strong trade with the UK. Coming from a Border county like Louth, I know more than most the possible effects of a hard border. While there will be a political border between Ireland and the UK, there should not be an economic border on the island of Ireland. The Border needs to be invisible. We want to maintain a common travel area and the current situation regarding reciprocal citizens' rights and the ability of Irish and British citizens to live, work, access health, housing, welfare and pensions in each other's countries.

Ireland's unique situation will require tailor-made solutions. It will be difficult to determine how Border issues will be resolved until we know what will be the new arrangements between the UK and the EU. However, it is important to make as much progress as possible in the first phase where the Irish-specific issues have been prioritised.

We would like to continue to reassure Irish citizens living in the UK and UK citizens living in Ireland that their rights have not changed. They are the same as they were before Article 50 was triggered.

While some progress has been made in negotiations, October is fast approaching. Further progress is needed. Our overall priorities are clear: no economic border; retention of the common travel area; protect the peace process; reciprocal rights; an effective transition arrangement leading to the closest possible trade relationship with the UK; and the need to work for the future of the Union.

Now is the time to be optimistic about Europe. Significant progress must be made on citizens' rights and the financial settlement so that the discussions on the EU's future relationship with the UK can begin. This is about building confidence. We need a foundation before we can build the house. This will be a long process and the outcome is far from determined. A lack of agreement resulting in a disorderly withdrawal would be damaging for all concerned, particularly Ireland.

I welcome the recent paper on guiding principles for Ireland and Northern Ireland from the European Commission's task force. That paper builds on the EU guidelines issued earlier this year in which Ireland's concerns and priorities were strongly acknowledged. The paper makes clear that it is the UK's responsibility to propose workable solutions when it comes to the Border.

The UK remaining in or as close as possible to the customs union and the Single Market would be the best solution. We want to maintain the trading relationships that have existed on our island for many decades. We are also passionate about the future of the European Union and playing our part in determining that.

We are not under any illusions about the complexity of Brexit. We have already taken important steps to prepare our economy, including in budget 2017, the Action Plan for Jobs 2017 and our trade and investment strategy. More initiatives are being prepared. Our Government enterprise agencies continue to work with companies helping them deal with Brexit, making them more competitive, diversifying market exposure and upskilling teams.

The EU is a home that we helped to build. The Irish Government is confident we can work together as 27 countries to deal with all these challenges. When Ireland joined the EU, our reliance on the UK for our exports was over 50%; it is now 17%. Our exports to the rest of the EU are currently 35% of our total exports. The EU is a marketplace of 500 million people; the UK is a marketplace of 65 million. This is not an either-or choice between the UK or our membership of the EU. We want the future relationship between the EU and the UK to be as close and as positive as possible. We will work hard with them to achieve that.

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 latest recorded figures show the UK received over £35 billion in foreign direct investment; Ireland during the same period received just over €5 billion. This represents a good 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.

I know from my constituency of Louth, the effects of foreign direct investment. We have seen many multinational companies locate to the town of Dundalk especially. The people and businesses of the town know at first hand the many benefits that large multinational companies locating to the town can bring. I wish to put on record the good work done by IDA Ireland in attracting foreign direct investment to the region. Dundalk has had more foreign direct investment over the past ten years than anywhere outside of Cork and Dublin, and that investment builds on this major urban centre's great tradition of industry.

A perfect example is Mullaharlin Park, a world-class science and technology space which is the result of a wonderful collaboration between Louth County Council and the IDA. Only last week we had the announcement of 125 new jobs as Graebel makes Dundalk its hub for its European, Middle Eastern and African operations. Dundalk owes much of its success to Dundalk Institute of Technology because of the quality of education it provides. Industries seeking to come to the region know they will be able to avail of a highly-trained and skilled workforce. Dundalk also has a reach of over 3 million people within a 90-minute drive. This is why the M1 corridor currently hosts many foreign direct investors. I congratulate Dundalk Chamber of Commerce on its 125-year anniversary and for having sold more than 800,000 "buy local" vouchers in Dundalk.

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