David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Michel Barnier, the EU chief Brexit negotiator, said in a parliamentary committee in Madrid on Tuesday that Ireland remains a source of uncertainty in the Brexit talks. As the Minister will know, the joint report and the communiqué that was agreed between Britain and the European Union was described in Europe as a "gentleman's agreement". It has been called a "backstop" agreement in this State.

The difficulty is in the interpretation of protecting the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts. The focus seems to be almost exclusively on trade. What the Government and the Minister need to understand is that the Good Friday Agreement was about more than trade. Trade was only one small part of it. It was also about people's social rights, political rights and rights to equality. A lot of that was underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement. I have two questions for the Minister. Can he commit to citizens in the North continuing to have access to the European Court of Human Rights and European Court of Justice post Brexit? Furthermore, can he commit to citizens in the North having political representation in the European Parliament, which should also be the right of any Irish citizen and any European citizen? That will be a test of whether we are truly going to vindicate the rights of Irish citizens and European citizens in the North.

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