Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to make some concluding remarks this evening. I believe that a detailed debate on the issue this early in the Dáil term has been time well spent. All of us are in daily contact with a vast array of stakeholders who are deeply worried about the impact Brexit will have on their lives and livelihood. Just this morning, I met with the executive of Galway county IFA. The first item on the agenda was Brexit and the likely impact of Brexit on the agricultural economy of County Galway.

I thank all the Deputies who have contributed over the past two days, many of whom have highlighted the issues and concerns they have been hearing in their constituencies. It is important these concerns find voice and are brought to bear on our collective thinking and planning for Brexit. It is a priority for the Government and I welcome that the Minister, Deputy Coveney, is convening the third plenary session of the all-island civic dialogue tomorrow in the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham. Since its establishment in November 2016 over 1,500 representatives from a range of industry and civil society groups have taken part in the all-island civic dialogue process. Its inaugural plenary session marked the beginning of a series of public consultations with a broad range of stakeholders and 19 all-island sectoral dialogues have taken place across the country. The work of that civic dialogue process to date has had an important role to play in shaping and reaffirming the priority issues identified by the Government ahead of the negotiations. The issues identified across a range of sectors were clearly reflected in the Government's comprehensive document, Ireland and the Negotiations on the UK's Withdrawal from the European Union: the Government's Approach, which was published on 2 May.

Additionally, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, has established a Brexit stakeholder forum as a means to inform and explain the Government's position during the Article 50 negotiations on the UK's withdrawal from the European Union. This brings together the voice of business, unions, political parties or State agencies and specific key sectors such as farming, and leading experts. A particular focus of this forum will be on our preparations for phase two of the EU-UK negotiations when parallel discussions are expected to begin on the framework of the future relationship between the EU and the UK.

The Government is strongly committed to engaging with all relevant stakeholders, is doing so and will continue to do so. We are acutely aware of the concerns of all sectors including the agrifood sector and it is clear our response must be multifaceted, requiring cohesive action here, at home and in the EU and further afield. As the House is aware, the Taoiseach has designated special responsibility to the Minister, Deputy Coveney, for the all-of-Government response to Brexit. Further intensifying the co-ordination of work across all Departments will be an immediate priority and to this end new cross-departmental co-ordination structures are now in place chaired at a very senior level by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It is clear the conclusion of a withdrawal agreement between the EU and the UK will continue to be a very significant focus of our efforts in the immediate term and I will return to this shortly. I also assure the House that the wider goal of protecting our economic interests in terms of trade and investment in the UK will be a key priority as well as a need to drive further diversification of our trade and investment flows across the globe.

My Department and its diplomatic missions will play a crucial role in protecting these interests and in promoting diversification and identifying and seizing new opportunities. It is clear Ireland will need to augment resources in networks overseas, including our diplomatic network. We also need to capture larger market shares in fast growing emerging countries and our priority will be to maintain, grow and diversify our share of international trade, employment and investment given the challenges of Brexit and a more competitive world. The recently published trade strategy, Ireland Connected: Trading and Investing in a Dynamic World, and the Taoiseach's recent announcement of a wish to double our presence across the world by 2025 are a clear demonstration of the Government's ambitions in this area. Our efforts to realise the economic opportunities as distinct from the challenges arising from Brexit also include working closely with the Ministers, Deputy Harris and Deputy Donohoe, on Ireland's bid to bring the European Medicines Agency and the European Banking Authority to Dublin. Brexit will be a critical factor in our long-term economic strategy and a new ten-year capital plan is in preparation.

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We are revising our Enterprise 2025 policy and we are in active discussions with the European Investment Bank for a potential increase in investment in the country.

The Government's enterprise agencies continue to work with companies, helping them to deal with Brexit, making them more competitive, diversifying market exposure and upskilling teams. In this regard I strongly encourage businesses to make use of the resources and the advice available including through our local enterprise offices and Bord Bia to help them build their own plans for Brexit.

We are entering an important phase of the negotiations. We know that in broad terms the EU and the UK share the ambition of sharing the closest possible relationship in the future and I welcome that the British Prime Minister, Mrs. May, confirmed this overriding objective in her speech last week. However, certain important milestones must be passed to get to this point. First, we want to achieve an orderly withdrawal of the UK from the EU. As the Minister, Deputy Coveney, set out in his opening remarks, a key benchmark in coming weeks will be the question of whether sufficient progress has been made on the so-called withdrawal issues during the current phase of the negotiations.

At the outset of the negotiations the EU and the UK agreed that the advancement of these issues must be the immediate priority so that we can move as quickly as possible to begin discussions on the framework for the future relationship between the EU and the UK. Last week's speech by the British Prime Minister, Mrs. May, was welcome. It provided some further clarity on the UK's position, including on citizens' rights and the financial settlement. We will now wait with anticipation for Mr. Michel Barnier to outline tomorrow the extent to which these commitments have translated to progress around the negotiating table during this week's round of negotiations.

Ireland has also consistently stressed that a transition phase supported by adequate governance arrangements will be required to minimise the disruption of trade and avoid a cliff-edge scenario. Equally important will be to ensure a level playing field on any future EU-UK agreement and to ensure the integrity of the Single Market and customs union. This is also in Ireland's fundamental economic interest.

The closest possible future relationship between the EU and the UK must be based on a level playing field and recognise the proper balance between rights and obligations, an issue also helpfully acknowledged by the British Prime Minister, Mrs. May, in her speech last week. I have spoken of the so-called withdrawal issues, which, of course, include the unique set of issues related to the situation on the island of Ireland and which, quite understandably, have been raised repeatedly throughout this week's debate.

The continuing understanding we enjoy from our EU partners is very clear. This shone through very clearly during last week's visit to Dublin by Mr. Guy Verhofstadt, MEP. I know that our partners in the EU 27 reiterated their support at the General Affairs Council earlier this week which was attended by the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee. Ireland's unique priorities of protecting the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process, maintaining the common travel area, and avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland have been reflected in the EU's core negotiating documents. We will continue to work closely with Mr. Barnier and his team to advance Ireland's concerns in these negotiations to build on the progress made to date.

I thank all the Deputies who took the time to contribute to the debate. I assure the House of the Government's commitment to continue such engagement in the coming weeks and months.

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