Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Rural Independent Group, I want to welcome you, Mr. Juncker, and your delegation to our Parliament. We want to work with Mr. Juncker and our European partners to advance the hard-won peace, economic stability and future of our State. We recognise that the challenges are many and diverse, each requiring sustained and complex negotiations. We hope that EU will display a more conciliatory attitude toward our friends in the United Kingdom who are seeking in all sincerity to have their democratic vote honoured in the best way possible. Some of the recent language from the European Union has seemed purposefully designed to create a sense of division between this State and our nearest neighbour. We do not want that. We want to work closely with our allies and in particular with our trading partners in the UK. Entire sectors of the Irish agrisector are being exposed due to the inability or unwillingness of the EU and the UK to nurture a deal that will be acceptable to all. As President Juncker's colleague, Mr. Barnier, stated some time ago, we are working on an international agreement between the UK and the EU that will seek the precision, rigour and legal certainty that is required for all international agreements. That is what we want here.

We must have clarity and legal certainty to sustain peace, remove any option of a hard border and respect the unique exposures Ireland will face in the years ahead.

Recently I travelled between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, as I do regularly, and found it frightening to see a vast, newly constructed border compound. The delays are significant for those involved in tourism and transport and everybody else. My question is similar to that asked by others. How can it be so different here if there is to be a border between the Republic and Northern Ireland? I ask the President to address that issue also.

Like the previous speaker, Deputy Catherine Connolly, I have concerns about the militarisation of the European Union. That is not what we joined for. The European Union is moving further away from the people I represent and the people we all represent here. That is a problem not only in Ireland but also, as we can see, in many other European countries.

There are many issues to be addressed. Reference was made to the heavy hand and coercing people to listen. Deputy Catherine Connolly used the phrase "Bí ag éisteacht". We need the President to listen. We need him to have empathy in dealing with our problems. We did not get a good ear when we had our problems following the banking collapse. We got very rough justice from our European friends. We are paying back and our grandchildren will also be paying back. There are many issues that need to be addressed sensitively and with more respect for the electorate in each of the independent states.

I wish the President an enjoyable time during his trip and hope he will take away the message that it is not all rosy in the garden and wonderful, as some parties here would like to make it appear. There are many issues and many people are suffering as a result of the European Union's inability or unwillingness to help us in our hour of need.

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