David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The answer is that the North does not have to be outside the European Union. It should be part of it because that is how the people voted. It is interesting that there are, rightly, proposals on the table to effectively keep the North in the customs union, the Single Market and the legal architecture of the European Union for trade purposes. Why can the same approach not be taken to citizens' rights and access to the European Court of Justice or the European Court of Human Rights? That could be done if there was the goodwill the Tánaiste says there is. Although we are making progress on trade issues and the backstop is that the North will be kept in an all-Ireland framework aligned to the rules of the customs union and the Single Market, why can the same logic not be applied to citizens' and political rights which are as important as trade for those who live in the North? I accept that the negotiations are ongoing and that there is goodwill, as the Tánaiste stated. We hope to get the best possible result for those who live in the North, but they are concerned by much of the commentary from elements of the Tory Party which are trying to unravel the political agreement reached in December. Although the Government and the European Union have work to do, the difficulty is that we are dealing with a very divided Tory Party which is not particularly generous or kind when it comes to the rights of people who live in the North.

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