Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion.

There is no quick-fix solution to this as we have seen, even over the past week, what has happened.

While it would be easier to criticise him, I have seen the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, over the past few months, especially with some journalists in England who would put one to the pin of one's collar in getting vexed, handle it well. I urge the Taoiseach to refrain from saying too much for the simple reason this ball is largely out of our hands. It is in the hands of the British Parliament. We have watched the British Prime Minister, Mrs. May. There are different views and we, no more than every parliament right across the world, must understand and respect that. It is a time for people not to overstate and provide excessive commentary on matters because space needs to be given. It was not overly helpful that some in the UK decided to say that they would not vote for the deal even though they had not seen it.

I have a few questions for the Tánaiste. We do not know whether this will be the final text. There is word coming out - we are like hurlers on the ditch. What we read or see is coming from either media or certain updates, but we do not know what is happening, to put it simply, at the engine room. We need to know whether there will be another bit of tweaking by Mrs. May and Mr. Michel Barnier or whether the document that we are voting on this evening will be the final document.

Can we help Mrs. May in the line of getting something in a trade deal that may help some of the people who are worried about the situation going forward? Can that be done or can there be a bit of wriggle room found in the meantime?

The bottom line on it, as I hear in commentary every day, is that there may be some parts of Brexit that would be good for some cities which would get extra financial business and additional employment but for rural areas, and especially the agricultural sector, 40% of Ireland's exports go to the United Kingdom. At a time that the Turkish market is in trouble, agriculture is reliant on the British market, although one would wonder when there is €200 in the difference between the price of an animal killed in Ireland and an animal of the same weight in England by which the British farmer is better off. In the scale of things, the importance of that can never be forgotten because to do so would be detrimental to not only Border counties but rural areas north, south, east and west which are reliant on agriculture and the export of goods to England.

There is much trepidation out there, even in the markets and marts. There is a sort of vacuum where people do not know whether they are coming or going.

Some people may not understand that everything will not just stop at the 59th minute of the 11th hour. We need to put the message out there in order to try to instill some confidence. The Tánaiste and the Minister of State went to different places trying to explain what is involved. That is fair enough but we need to get the message out there because there is a lot of misunderstanding about dates, when this and that will happen and the lead-in period. It is very important to get this across.

We have had an agreement in the form of the common travel area since the 1940s. That should stand regardless of what happens. People do not want to go back to the old days. I remember the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It is great that people can now cross the Border without being held up for half an hour and being asked all sorts of questions. What has happened in Northern Ireland in recent years in the context of the amount of work that has been done by those all sides has been very good. This is not about any one individual blowing his or her trumpet; it involves the Catholic and Protestant communities. Those involved must be recognised for the effort that has been made. We need to ensure that this happens.

If a hard Brexit came about, is there a danger that many EU nationals could use this country to gain access to the UK? Is there a possibility that Ireland might almost be smothered because it is the nearest access point? Even though I would not be a big admirer of British politics, I think Mrs. May deserves credit for what she has done. She is almost like a cat with nine lives. She has come through every type of grenade thrown at her. People probably need to step back and see sense over there but in fairness to Mrs. May, she has moved on and has stood out over the past number of weeks. We do not know what will happen. It is entirely up to the politicians in the British Parliament. It appears that Mrs. May will not get her deal through. Perhaps we are wrong. A week ago, they were saying the magic number of 48 would be reached but that does not seem to have happened. Perhaps common sense might prevail. In the event that there is an election and Mrs. May is no longer leader, what is our plan B to ensure that agricultural and manufacturing exports from rural areas of Ireland will be safeguarded and that there will be no "big bang"?

I wish the Tánaiste and Minister of State well in the negotiations in the coming week.

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