David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Last December, the Taoiseach described the Brexit joint report as cast iron and rock solid. At the time, if the Taoiseach recalls, we in Sinn Féin acknowledged the positive language in the joint report but we warned that it fell far short of what is needed to truly protect the national interest, North and South. We cautioned that the promises contained in the joint report were not legally binding. We pointed out that the report was full of holes and open to interpretation. We warned that the Government needed to be very careful dealing with a Tory Government, especially a divided one. That was sound and solid advice, and how right we were.

Mr. David Davis, the lead negotiator for Britain in the talks, described the joint report as nothing more than a statement of intent. The European Commission described it merely as a gentlemen's agreement, a far cry from cast iron and rock solid. This was a fudge designed to get Britain and the European Union into wider trade talks. The assumption the Taoiseach made was that Britain would commit itself to staying in the customs union and Single Market or some variation of that. That is what we would want to see as well.

The Government accepted a bag of promises from Theresa May and Boris Johnson. Those promises have been cast to the wind and the Taoiseach's cast-iron guarantee is now not worth the paper it is written on. The future of this island is still subject to Theresa May's Cabinet battles and Boris Johnson's leadership ambitions. There will be a hardening of the Border on this island if the hard Brexiteers have their way and Britain and the North leave the European Union. We cannot have a situation where the North is dragged out of the customs union and Single Market against its will.

We have consistently said that the only practical solution for Ireland is for the North to have special status in the European Union. This would simply reflect the will of the people; as the Taoiseach knows, a majority in the North voted to remain. Sinn Féin is very clear on what that special status would mean. In practical terms, it would mean the North staying in the customs union and Single Market; both the Assembly and the Good Friday Agreement staying in the legal framework of the European Union and the European courts; and the protection of the rights of those who live in the North of Ireland who are Irish and European citizens, who should be able to enjoy exactly the same rights post-Brexit as they do now. The sooner the Government realises this and works towards those alternatives, the better.

The Taoiseach's naive guarantees in December have damaged his credibility. He allowed himself and the Government to be led by the nose by Theresa May, with the Tánaiste, Deputy Coveney, being patted on the back by Boris Johnson as the best boy in the class. Will the Government finally accept the reality that there was no cast-iron guarantee in December? Will the Taoiseach and Tánaiste accept that because of their naivety, we are essentially back to square one? Will the Taoiseach explicitly call for the North to stay in the customs union and Single Market? Will he call for the Good Friday Agreement to stay within the legal architecture of the Union? Does he see that as the only practical, sensible, realistic solution to protect the interests of Irish people, North and South?

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