Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Taoiseach has said, Ireland and the UK share profound and strong ties across many areas, which have benefitted greatly from both countries' membership of the EU. There could never in my view, therefore, be a positive outcome to our closest neighbour and friend leaving a European Union that we joined together in 1973. That remains the case today. While we respect the UK vote, we think it is bad for Britain, we think it is bad for Europe and we think it is bad for Ireland, too.

Since the decision was taken in 2016, however, and even before it was reached, the Government has sought to ensure that we in Ireland can minimise the negative impact of Brexit for this island. We have had clear objectives throughout, centring on protecting our peace process, the Good Friday Agreement and our common travel area and avoiding any return to the borders or tensions of the past.

We could not expect that all EU governments would be familiar with the detail of these concerns, but we felt that they would listen. In truth, they have gone on to do so much more than that. Prime Ministers and foreign Ministers took the time to visit the Border for themselves and to see how it facilitated peace, North-South co-operation and our all-island economy in terms of how it functions today. The solidarity that flowed from these visits and meetings became a powerful shared bond across the 27 states in Brussels. Michel Barnier channelled that shared outlook with determination, great skill and subtlety throughout. He has been a formidable chief negotiator for the EU and for Ireland, leading a highly talented team that we have got to know very well.

Over the past two years, the complexity of the United Kingdom's departure from the EU and the scale of the challenge it presents have become only too clear. The draft withdrawal agreement that has been achieved by both sets of negotiators represents real compromise by both sides. It provides the best way of ensuring that the UK's departure can happen in an orderly manner, avoiding the UK crashing out, with all of the severe consequences that would undoubtedly bring.

The withdrawal agreement covers all elements of the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

This includes the protection of UK and EU citizens’ rights as well as protecting the current EU budget. It provides for the orderly winding down of current arrangements across the broad spectrum of EU co-operation as well as the governance structures for the implementation of the agreement. It also includes protocols on Gibraltar and the British sovereign bases in Cyprus.

The agreement provides for a period of transition up to December 2020 during which EU rules and regulations will continue to apply to the UK. This will allow for the negotiation of an agreement on the future relationship between the EU and the UK which we hope will be deep and comprehensive. The transition period should also provide certainty to citizens and businesses as we continue our preparations for a new relationship with the UK outside the EU. It is welcome that the agreement now includes an option to extend this transition if more time is needed to complete negotiations and conclude a future agreement, something I have long argued would be necessary in time.

Crucially, this draft agreement meets Ireland’s key objective of protecting the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts, with a protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland to address issues specific to this island. The protocol underpins in a dynamic way continued North-South co-operation and the all-island economy. It acknowledges the common travel area whereby Irish and British people can live, work, study and access healthcare, social security and public services in each other’s jurisdictions. In many ways, the common travel area has almost become a mutual recognition of citizenship on these islands. The agreement includes important commitments to ensure no diminution of rights, safeguards and equality of opportunity as set out in the Good Friday Agreement and confirms that people in Northern Ireland will continue to enjoy their rights as EU citizens. This will remain a significant priority for the Government throughout the Brexit process. We will do our utmost to ensure that the rights of citizens in Northern Ireland are protected to the fullest possible extent.

The withdrawal agreement provides for continued support for the North-South PEACE and INTERREG funding programmes. It also preserves the single electricity market which is crucial for the interests of Northern Ireland in particular, but also for the island as a whole. Vitally, nothing in the agreement will prejudice the constitutional status of Northern Ireland and the principle of consent as set out in the Good Friday Agreement. This is explicitly laid out in the very first clause of the first article of the protocol and it is there for good reason. Most importantly, the protocol includes a backstop to prevent the re-emergence of a hard border on this island in all circumstances. The backstop is an insurance policy which we hope will never be used. It remains our priority to achieve a future EU-UK agreement that can in its own right maintain an open border while protecting North-South co-operation and our all-island economy. The withdrawal agreement itself includes a so-called best endeavours clause that commits both sides to pursuing this aim.

Over the next two years we will be working closely with our EU partners to meet that commitment. However, if this is not possible within that time, the draft agreement provides for the transition period to be extended once, for a limited time. If there is no subsequent agreement at the end of transition, then the backstop can apply. The UK-wide customs territory which would apply under the backstop will involve no tariffs or quotas and includes well-established rules with regard to ensuring a level playing field. Northern Ireland would remain aligned to the rules of the Single Market that are indispensable to avoiding a hard border. The only exception to those measures is fishing because there is recognition on both sides that a detailed negotiation is required to get a future relationship agreement on fishing that is balanced and fair.

A review mechanism for the backstop allows that these provisions can cease to apply, in whole or part, once a better solution has been found. The agreement makes clear, however, that this decision cannot be taken unilaterally but must be taken jointly by the EU and the UK. This translates the UK’s political commitment to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland into a legal guarantee. I pay tribute to Prime Minister May in following through in full on the important commitments she made last December and again last March to this island as a whole.

The focus now is on ensuring that the agreement will be endorsed by a special meeting of the European Council on Sunday, 25 November, together with a political declaration on the framework for the EU-UK future relationship. It is hoped we will see the text of that declaration later this evening. The European Parliament will also have to provide its consent before the EU formally concludes the withdrawal agreement. At the same time, the UK must ratify the agreement according to its own constitutional arrangements. All going well, and I accept that is a significant caveat, from 30 March 2019 we will start the considerable work of negotiating a comprehensive and deep future relationship. Our goal has always been for the closest possible relationship between Britain and Ireland and between the UK and the EU. The draft political declaration expresses the hope of all sides that the future relationship will be as deep and comprehensive as possible. In doing this of course, we must also maintain the integrity of the EU Single Market.

Unfortunately however, as we know very well, developments over the coming weeks cannot be taken for granted. Therefore the Government continues to advance extensive and detailed Brexit preparedness and contingency work across all Departments and State agencies. This addresses the full range of Brexit scenarios to make sure Ireland is ready no matter what may come in the future. The Government has focused on preparedness measures needed on an east-west basis, preparing our ports and airports. The first phase of a recruitment programme of approximately 1,000 staff for customs and sanitary and phyto sanitary, SPS, controls, in addition to information and communications technology, ICT, and infrastructure measures, is already underway. This initial phase of recruitment will see staff in place by the end of March next year. The intention is that further recruitment will take place during the transition period. Planning is also in place to allow for these measures to be accelerated or adapted in the event of no deal.

In a number of key areas, it will be at the EU level that the appropriate response and mitigation will be needed. We have also actively engaged with the European Commission and its Brexit preparedness unit on areas where the lead policy role lies with the EU. We are working closely with the Commission and other affected member states to ensure continued effective use of the UK land bridge, for instance. This includes preparing EU ports to facilitate transit of EU products through the UK once they leave the EU. In Ireland, a cross-departmental land bridge project group, chaired by my Department, co-ordinates our approach. This is a priority given the importance of getting Irish products to market in Europe, particularly agrifood products. This work is intensifying and I am glad to say that good progress is being made. The importance has been recognised and agreed in the protocol to the draft withdrawal agreement which reaffirms the commitment of the UK to facilitate efficient and timely transit. I welcome the UK’s formal notification of its intention to join the common transit convention which would play an important role in ensuring Irish access to the EU using the UK as a land bridge.

In our last two budgets we announced a wide array of supports for business. To better inform business and the public at large, the Government has also overseen a co-ordinated communication and outreach campaign through the Brexit website, social media and public events. The getting Ireland Brexit ready public information campaign has seen very successful outreach events held throughout October in Cork, Galway, Monaghan and Dublin, with further events this week in Limerick and next week in Letterkenny.

We are grateful for the support and advice received from all sides of the House. We need to sustain this effort now. Leaders and spokespersons with sister parties in the UK need to ensure our British colleagues are fully seized of the protections for this island and our peace process in the agreement under consideration.

I am on the record as stating that parties with a vote in these landmark decisions should use that franchise in the interests of all the people on this island. As Theresa May has acknowledged, these are now difficult days as she tries to gain support in the House of Commons for this hard-won deal that has taken two years to put together. We can only hope the arguments which hold sway in the coming weeks are economic ones and practical ones that are aware of our shared history rather than forgetful of what we have overcome together. The support of this House for the draft withdrawal agreement, I am sure, will send a strong signal ahead of the European Council meeting on Sunday that Ireland is fully behind this deal, and I therefore ask the Dáil to support this motion.

I know there are two amendments to the motion the Government has proposed. On the Sinn Féin amendment in particular, while I agree with the sentiment and the words in it, I do not think it is helpful for us to take away from the core message we are trying to send from this House, which is that we support the text of the withdrawal agreement that was agreed last week by the British Government and the EU negotiating team. It is time that we kept our message simple and clear, and we have, I hope, all-party support for that text of last week. Of course, parties could add a lot to it in terms of emphasising points. We could have written a much longer motion, outlining many of the things in the motion that I have outlined and the Taoiseach has outlined in his speech, but I think that potentially loses the opportunity that we have tonight to be crystal clear on one message. That message has to be that the withdrawal agreement text of last week is fully supported across all parties in this Dáil. I ask parties to support us, please, in that singular effort, rather than looking to add to this motion, making points that are understandable and valid, but in a way that takes away from the clarity of what we are trying to achieve in terms of a clear, simple statement from Ireland that we fully support the text that was agreed last week and that we are encouraging others to do the same.

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