Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

When speaking in the Dáil about Brexit after the vote in the United Kingdom on 23 June, I paraphrased Yeats in saying "everything is changed, changed utterly." In this case a terrible beast was born, the beast of Brexit. Sometimes it is hard to believe all of this is happening, but, as the saying goes, we are where we are and must deal with the so-called Brexit disaster as best we can.

Fianna Fáil supports the motion before the House and welcomes the draft withdrawal agreement. I assume that it will be agreed to by the EU 27 on Sunday, despite last minute concerns expressed by Spain about the status of Gibraltar and France about fisheries. Considerable time, effort and resources have been expended by the Government and the public administration on this issue since 2016, possibly to the neglect of other policy priorities, which is a pity. The efforts of diplomatic officials in Brussels and Dublin in getting to this stage deserve our highest praise.

Our civil servants do exceptional work on our behalf and that should be acknowledged. In passing, I wish to note that the offer by Fianna Fáil to provide political stability until this process is finalised should not be underestimated.

We should acknowledge the steadfast solidarity shown to Ireland by other EU states. We appreciate the understanding of our position that they have displayed. Michel Barnier and Guy Verhofstadt have shown exceptional understanding of our position as well.

I have fears for Anglo-Irish relations. Ireland has a unique relationship with the UK economically, socially and culturally. There has been a serious cooling in this relationship in recent years and I do not think that was necessary. Many in this country are too young to remember the IRA campaign of violence and daily atrocities. The Taoiseach and his Government must never allow us to return to those days again. Brit-bashing can be popular and electorally advantageous but it is dangerous in the long term. Far more should be done, even while these Brexit negotiations are under way, to restore Anglo-Irish relations to previous levels of co-operation and understanding.

Our main concern should be the situation in Northern Ireland. The draft withdrawal agreement protects the Good Friday Agreement in all its aspects. Therefore, it is difficult to understand the position of the DUP in all of this. The draft withdrawal agreement makes clear that it does not provide for a change in the constitutional position of Northern Ireland in the absence of consent. A majority of citizens in Northern Ireland voted to remain in the European Union. The agreement offers unique opportunities for the economic development of Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland can have the best of all worlds. Northern Ireland is different in many ways to the rest of the UK. The differences in social legislation represent only one example. It is unbelievable that the DUP is opposed to the agreement on ideological grounds. The DUP would appear to be adhering to old-fashioned unionism which surely must be outdated in today's globalised and interdependent world. One glimmer of hope is that farming organisations, tourism interests and business organisations in Northern Ireland see the positive advantages of the agreement and are making their voices heard with their MPs. Let us hope they will be listened to. It cannot be emphasised enough that everything possible should be done to get the Northern Ireland institutions up and running and to get normal political processes back on track.

The exit of the UK from the EU will have more impact on Ireland than on any other EU state. This draft withdrawal agreement offers us the best prospect of minimising the damage that could be done to our economy. There is a real possibility that the UK will crash out with no deal. That would be a disaster. We would then be in uncharted waters. The options to consider in such circumstances can be debated on another day, including the possibility of a second vote. Let us hope that the deal now on the table succeeds.

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