Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Brendan Smith.

We are very fond of the saying "We are where we are". It is a good saying about accepting reality. We accept the reality of the vote in the UK on Brexit. Another reality, however, is that Northern Ireland did not vote to leave the EU; it voted to remain. Despite of all the work, the endless hours and resources going into the negotiations, we do not know what the reality of Brexit will be for Ireland or Northern Ireland. I am a member of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement which hears many presentations from and meets individuals and organisations living and operating in the North, those in the so-called Border counties and from organisations whose work covers all 32 counties. At our most recent meetings, we heard presentations from two academics which were particularly challenging and stimulating.

One of the positive points they made was that many British MPs were not alive at the time of the Good Friday Agreement and are engaging with and learning about that agreement for the first time. They also mentioned statements by the Prime Minister on upholding the agreement. I asked about the degree to which Ireland depend on the EU to remain firm and strong on the Irish issues as it is now, particularly if one goes on the basis of what Michel Barnier is saying and doing. I expressed a fear that when it comes to a final resolution between the EU and the UK, Ireland could be caught in the crossfire, especially in the context of business and finance. Recent statistics on foreign direct investment into the UK are disturbing. The reply I received to my question was to the effect that the language of the EU is getting stronger on Ireland. We took great solace from that. Those are positive points.

The UK withdrawal, however, has the potential to disrupt the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and undermine the peace that Irish people have, with few exceptions, enjoyed for over 20 years. To paraphrase one of the academics' points, the nature and effect of Brexit on the Good Friday Agreement will depend on how the processes of withdrawal and transition are managed, on arrangements for future relations between the EU and the UK and on how the parties to the Agreement work on responding to those issues and changes. The relationship between Britain and Ireland is also of great importance. That means real engagement and communication.

The Border cannot be a dividing line between the Six Counties and the Twenty-six Counties. Many of us know what it was like to have a Border and many more know what it is like without one. There is no doubt about which is the better option. There has been agreement on free movement and avoiding a hardening of the Border but I am not sure that Britain is on the same page in respect of what it actually means and what it will take to avoid a hardening of the Border. In spite of Teresa May's recent speech consistently putting the Good Friday Agreement at the heart of the UK's approach it is not clear how this will be done. A broad position paper was released last August and there has been some rhetoric about commitments and North-South co-operation, an all-island economy and avoiding a hard border but it is short on realistic details and on how that can be achieved, whereas the EU at the very least has set out the minimum requirement for the UK to deliver on this. We know about the backstop in the case that it will not be wonderful or satisfactory and we hope that will not happen. It appears to some that what is envisaged for Ireland is a selective and lean version of the internal market. If that is so, that protocol will fall far short of what political and business people have been calling for, namely, to have Northern Ireland remain in the Internal Market.

In a letter of 26 August 2016, Arlene Foster and the late Martin McGuinness set out the ideal outcome and stated that there should be no friction on cross-Border trade and services, continued integration of EU skilled and unskilled workers and that all-Ireland energy and agriculture regimes should be protected. The underlying assumption was that there would be minimal change in Northern Ireland as a result of Brexit but that appears to be less and less of a reality. There is a divide between those who want Northern Ireland to be granted some form of special status and those who will not hear of it. There is also the reality that there is no Government in Northern Ireland. There are questions over the use of public money, the Conservative Party is dependent on the Democratic Unionist Party, DUP, and there is infighting and disagreement within the Conservative and Labour parties. There is a middle ground in Northern Ireland and 47% of those who occupy it say they are neither unionist nor nationalist.

This day last week was the 44th anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. Many of us were on Talbot Street on the day. The campaigners and relatives are still waiting for the truth despite all the Dáil motions and parliamentary questions. I fear that following the UK withdrawal those legacy issues will be further down the list of priorities.

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