Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is clear that this is a very delicate moment in the negotiations for the UK's withdrawal from the EU and we are right in the middle of it. It is no exaggeration to say that the two most important international relationships that Ireland has are with the EU and its members and with the United Kingdom. One is the primary partnership we have chosen for our future and the other is our closest neighbour that has picked a different future for itself.

Many British citizens have voted to leave the EU as they believe it will allow them to take better control of their futures. I am not going to comment on whether they are right or wrong but I will say that we in Ireland know that membership of international rule-based organisations is the best way to build international relationships and for countries to support each other. Maybe we know this to be true more quickly as a small country, that it is a big, complex and volatile world out there and I imagine it can be very cold on one's own. The support we have achieved from our European friends and partners in the negotiations has been unwavering.

The Border presents a paradox and serious challenge and solving it is still urgent. The issues being raised by the various solutions being proposed are core to many people's sense of identity. It looks as though emotions are heightened more than ever. It would be easy to get caught up in who is right or wrong and who said what but at this time we need to put all that aside and remain steadfast in our ambition to come to a good, fair agreement with the United Kingdom that mitigates as much as possible the inevitable damage that will come.

Sometimes it feels as though our fellow British parliamentarians do not fully understand the consequences of some of what they are suggesting for this island so it is important to keep talking and explaining. For example, Keir Starmer was in Dublin a couple of weeks ago, when he spoke to Members of these Houses and others. He appeared before the committee I chair and we had a very meaningful discussion, of which the Minister of State will be aware. I will not say that his speech today was based on those interactions, but it shows all of us why we must keep talking to one another.

As the competitors at last week's ploughing championships know, when one ploughs a field the most important thing to get right is the first furrow, and to get that straight. A ploughman tracks the wheels into the first furrow. If that first furrow is crooked, there is no fixing it. One could repeat the mistake for the whole field. To find a solution that works for the Border is the first furrow in the withdrawal agreement. I have always found the best thing to do is to pick a fence or tree at the end of the field and keep an eye on it all the way. Do not waver, do not look down or up, do not look left or right but keep going in a straight line.

We are in uncharted waters. On behalf of the joint committee, I remind the Minister of State that we fully support her in the work she has been doing. She has been very workpersonlike in appearing before the committee at all times. She has made herself available and I could not find any fault in how she is carrying out her role, and it is a difficult role at this time. I have said it on record before, and I would say if it was otherwise, but it is no harm to recognise a person when they are committed to doing the best that they can do. We are all in this together. This debate tonight is important. We need to keep talking and keep the people on the other side of the water talking too, to try to make them understand the complications we face in dealing with the mess that they have made for us.

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