Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the other Members of the House and the Minister of State for agreeing to give us a few minutes to speak on this issue.

Fianna Fáil is concerned that the issue of the Border remains far from resolved. We were told in December that the agreement reached on the Border was "bullet-proof" and "cast-iron", but it and the backstop, nevertheless, remain the biggest hurdles in the negotiations. We were told by the Tánaiste, I am sure in good faith, that issues would be resolved by the June European Council but it now looks like there will be no progress until at least October. The solutions put forward by the UK so far are unworkable and, as a party, we will not countenance any sort of Border, technological or otherwise.

Fianna Fáil has repeatedly called for Northern Ireland to be designated as a special economic zone. It would help mitigate some of the worst effects of Brexit if that happened. Fianna Fáil is broadly supportive of the Government's stance on Brexit. However, we have a genuine concern that there is a level of complacency in our approach to preparing for Brexit domestically.

Given the infighting within the UK Tory Government, we cannot take anything for granted and we must be prepared for all scenarios, as the Minister of State will be aware. An AIB survey showed that only 6% of small and medium enterprises in the Republic have a formal plan to deal with Brexit. This is a matter of serious concern to me and to the people in my part of the country. There are a great number of small businesses, including many agrifood businesses mainly selling into England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. They are fearful about what will happen in terms of Brexit and that if there is a change with respect to the Border, it will create serious difficulties.

Fianna Fáil very much welcomes and acknowledges the solidarity shown to us by other EU member states and the EU negotiation team led by Michel Barnier on the Border issue. However, significant challenges remain to be overcome and serious risks remain. There is no room for complacency in this regard.

While we are broadly supportive of the Government's international response to Brexit, we are concerned that Ireland may be losing traction on the Border. It is therefore imperative that the Government pushes for and secures sufficient progress on this by the next European Council in June. Ireland's unique circumstances must remain central in the negotiations ahead. We cannot let the Border issue slip down the agenda. The phase 1 agreement reached in December was sold to us by the Government as "bullet-proof" and "cast-iron" but the reality, as the Minister of State is aware, is that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed and there is no agreement yet between the EU and UK on the issue of the Irish Border.

Regarding the domestic scene, the message needs to go out that whatever the outcome of Brexit will be, there will be changes to our trading relationship and although we do not know the extent of those changes, this reality must be faced. On 29 March 2019, the UK will become a third country and will no longer be a member of the European Union. While a transition agreement has been agreed, in principle, it is dependent on the withdrawal agreement being reached in 2018. That time is short and this transition period is due to end on 30 December 2020. Change is coming down the tracks and we need to prepare.

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