Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach is in Brussels today for a meeting of the European Council which was being heralded not so long ago as a massively important meeting for Brexit negotiations and the Irish question.

The Tánaiste stated in March that the summit is significant from an Irish perspective and the Taoiseach told us in April that he was optimistic progress could be achieved in June. We are all well aware that has not happened as a consequence of the prevarication of the British Government. There is, quite rightly, huge concern among people and businesses about this matter. There is massive worry right across Ireland, North and South, about the consequences of Brexit and the negative impact it will have on key sectors in the economy. The Tánaiste is well aware of those concerns.

As matters stand, the British position would impose a hard border on our island and would lead to the imposition of barriers in the context of east-west trade. It would also undermine and damage the Good Friday Agreement. Britain's negotiating position is to run down the clock, delay and delay again. Allowing some time for Theresa May to get her house in order might have been sensible for some time but now we are playing right into the hands of the British Government. We are told tomorrow's European Council statement will express concern that no substantial progress has been made on the backstop solution. Such a statement is meaningless if we are to turn a blind eye to the British negotiating side in these talks. Last December, we were informed by Government, with all the attendant fanfare, that we had a cast-iron guarantee. We were told that in the event of a no-deal scenario, there would be no border on the island of Ireland. We were told the backstop arrangement was our insurance policy and that it would come into play in the event of a hard Brexit. We in Sinn Féin supported the Government at the time despite the limitations of what was on offer in December last year. We did so because we want what is best for Ireland's interests. That means there is an onus on the Government to step up to the mark and not allow us to move into October without a resolution to the Irish issues. That means the EU negotiating strategy must be informed by Irish thinking. The Irish perspective needs to be at the centre of the table and needs to move things forward. If that requires a special European Council summit in September to deal with the issues relating to the Irish question, then so be it. We should be making that call because we need to initiate and lead. Will the Taoiseach make that call today and tomorrow? Will he be calling for a special summit in order to ensure that the issues relating to Ireland are dealt with before the October deadline?

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