Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Today and tomorrow, the Taoiseach will attend the meeting of the European Council in Brussels. We are all aware that this meeting is absolutely crucial to our economic, political and social future. The Government has decided to endorse the joint report from the EU Commission and the British Government and last Friday morning the Taoiseach described that report as “rock solid and cast iron”. While acknowledging the positive language in the joint report, Sinn Féin warned that it fell far short of what is needed to truly protect the national interest, North and South.

Sinn Féin also cautioned that the commitments made were not legally binding and that the Government needed to be very careful in its dealings with the Tory Government. Over the days that followed, our caution was proven to be well founded. The British Government spokesperson on Brexit, David Davis, went on television last Sunday and stated that the joint report was merely a “statement of intent”. Senior officials from the Department for Exiting the European Union at Westminster have already rowed back on the British commitments. They have claimed that full alignment will only apply to six areas of North-South co-operation as set out in the Good Friday Agreement. The looseness of the joint report was further highlighted when, on Monday the EU Commission confirmed that the joint report is not legally binding. They described it as “a deal between gentlemen”. This is hardly the language of rock solid and cast iron agreements. The backsliding the Tánaiste referred to earlier has already started.

We are left with a set of contradictions. The first is the claim that there will be no hard border in Ireland, but Britain is leaving customs union and the Single Market and wishes to drag the North of Ireland with them. The second contradiction is the claim that there will be no denudation of rights for citizens, but Britain is leaving the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. The third contradiction is the claim that there is no threat to the Good Friday Agreement, but we are facing the biggest social and political rupture to impact on our island in generations. There is a huge square to be circled here and relatively little time in which to do it.

I met with cross-community sectoral groups in Belfast last Monday. I can tell the Tánaiste that they are feeling far from assured, clear or certain about their future. We have clarity only on one aspect; that nothing is cast iron or rock solid. The Tánaiste referred to negotiating guidelines and the possibility of a draft withdrawal agreement being published next year. I want to ask the Tánaiste about a more immediate concern. Will the Tánaiste indicate whether the Taoiseach will seek additional assurances from the British Prime Minister and our EU partners before allowing the talks to move onto phase two? Will the Tánaiste seek these assurances over the next two days? Will any such assurances be put in writing and published? Will these assurances be legally binding?

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