David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not raise these issues to be critical of the Minister or the Government. I raise them because they are central and important to citizens in the North and because they underpin the Good Friday Agreement. My point is the Minister is right when he states we need to ensure that Irish citizens who live in the North should continue to enjoy the same rights they currently enjoy as EU citizens. At present, they have access to the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice. The reasonable question asked by those citizens in the North, who are European citizens, is whether they will continue to do so. At present, they have representation in the European Parliament. It is reasonable to ask whether they will continue to do so.

Whatever the outcome of certain demands, it is reasonable for an Irish Government to put these issues on the table. I heard the Taoiseach today talk about a "Norway-plus" solution for Britain, saying that he wanted the best outcome for Britain and the European Union, that is, the closet possible relationship. What he said is that as there is no solution and no precedent here, anything is on the table. The same can be said of the North. We want special status for the North within the European Union. Why would the Irish Government not take the same approach, whereby everything is on the table and everything is possible?

If the Minister truly wants to vindicate the rights of citizens in the North and to protect the Good Friday Agreement, and all its parts, then those citizens who live in the North cannot have the rights on one hand yet not be able to exercise and vindicate them in the place they live, which just happens to be the North. That is a genuine concern of ours. We will work with the Irish Government and do our best to ensure that we get these type of issues over the line. I am not looking for absolute outcomes because we cannot guarantee them. However, we can expect an Irish Government to make not demands but common sense, practical proposals that will impact on citizens living in the North.

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