Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The path to this important juncture in the negotiation process has not been easy. As the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and many people in this House have stated, there is still a lot of work ahead. The solidarity and support of our EU partners have been hallmarks of this process and have been unwavering and consistent throughout all the twists and turns that have occurred so far. I have witnessed at first hand the attention and consideration colleagues across Europe have given to the unique issues facing this island and this Government is profoundly grateful for the unity our European friends and colleagues have demonstrated. There is, of course, solidarity and support at home as well. This has been amply demonstrated in this debate.

Brexit has presented us with unique challenges of an unprecedented nature. As the Taoiseach has stressed, Brexit is not something we sought. It is something we regret but we must also accept the decision of the British people and we are committed to working towards an outcome that protects all of our interests. In responding to Brexit, the Government has faced the task with welcome support from this House for the priority issues we have placed at the centre of our negotiation strategy. Although we may differ from time to time in approach or emphasis, the core objectives we have pursued have been supported across this House, which, again, is welcome. The informed and thoughtful debate that has taken place this evening is consistent with this approach and has greatly assisted us in demonstrating unity throughout the negotiating process - a unity that in no small part has helped us to get to where we are today. For our part, we have sought to inform the House on a regular basis about the various different developments in the negotiations and related events. At all times, we have been conscious that there is significant interest and concern about the issues on the part of the people we represent in the Dáil and in our respective constituencies.

In setting and developing our priorities, the concerns of citizens, businesses and every aspect of Irish society have been to the forefront of all our minds. This has included protecting the hard-won peace on this island and explaining to our EU partners how people in Northern Ireland north and the south have felt the benefits of this peace, in particular in a very tangible way across the open and invisible border that exists between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. I have accompanied European Ministers and many others on visits to the Border region and have witnessed the impact on our EU partners of the stories of ordinary people who just want to get on with their lives and who want us to find practical solutions to the many challenges of Brexit. I will continue to raise these concerns and questions in this House and in my ongoing contacts with my European partners. Ireland's commitment to EU membership is stronger than ever. There are challenges beyond Brexit that will require attention in the months and years ahead. We will continue to engage on those issues.

The negotiations on the draft withdrawal agreement have been tough and difficult for all involved. However, the draft agreement we are discussing this evening represents the best way ahead for all of us. As has been said by many tonight, it is by no means perfect. It represents important compromises on both sides. However, it ensures that key interests of the UK and all of the EU are addressed. It was never the case that Brexit would be straightforward or easy. This has become increasingly clear as the negotiations have gone on so it is important for us all - citizens, enterprises and even our international partners - that the UK's withdrawal happens in an orderly manner. The withdrawal agreement provides the best way - the only way - to achieve this. Nobody benefits from a hard Brexit and the serious consequences it would have for the UK, EU and us here in Ireland. The draft agreement provides for the orderly winding down of the current arrangements across what is a broad spectrum of EU co-operation as well as the governance structures for the implementation of the agreement. This, of course, includes the protection of UK and EU citizens as well the current EU budget, which is really important for us, particularly in areas such as CAP, which many have mentioned this evening.

With the withdrawal agreement, we can rely on a transition period providing certainty for citizens and businesses as we prepare for a new relationship with the UK outside the EU. Transition also provides us with the time we need to negotiate what we want, which is a deep, meaningful and comprehensive arrangement regarding our future relationship.

The draft withdrawal agreement plays an essential role in protecting the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process in Northern Ireland, to which many Deputies referred. The importance of this has been recognised and supported by all our EU partners. It has also been recognised in the repeated political commitments made by Prime Minister May in December and March. This document very much upholds those commitments. The backstop provisions provide an important insurance policy that we will not see a return to a hard border on this island under any circumstances. This translates the UK's political commitments to avoid a hard border into a legal guarantee - something we have sought to do for the past year. Of course, we hope the backstop will never be used. We are committed to working closely with the UK and our EU partners to agree a deep and comprehensive future relationship - one that will mean that the backstop provision will never be needed. Rights, safeguards and equality of opportunity as set out in the Good Friday Agreement as well as EU citizenship rights for people in Northern Ireland are also protected under the agreement. I reiterate what the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste stated earlier, namely, that 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.

As we look to the future, the agreement also acknowledges the common travel area whereby Irish and British people can live, work, study and access healthcare, social security and public services in either jurisdiction. While the UK's decision to leave has serious implications for Ireland, we will maintain a strong and constructive bilateral relationship with the UK. We are fully committed to developing and enhancing this relationship in the coming years.

This will include making full use of the channels that already exist for ongoing dialogue and co-operation between the Irish and British Governments, including those provided for in the Good Friday Agreement, with important institutional co-operation taking place on an east-west basis through the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference and the British Irish Council. In addition, the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly brings together elected representatives from the Oireachtas, Westminster, Northern Ireland and the Scottish and Welsh devolved assemblies. These structures have shown their value and will continue to evolve in response to the changing circumstances. In addition, we will explore other avenues, which many have raised this evening, to maintain the habit of co-operation that currently exists through the regular meetings of the Irish and UK Government Ministers in Brussels and elsewhere in Europe on a range of EU matters that are significant to Ireland and the UK.

This evening's debate has focused on the draft withdrawal agreement. For all of the reasons we have discussed, it is likely to continue to be the focus of much attention for coming weeks. There are two documents being discussed, namely, this draft withdrawal agreement and the future political declaration which sets out the direction in which we want the future relationship to go, on which we hope to have a final agreement before the EU Council meeting on Sunday next. A negotiated withdrawal agreement remains the best possible outcome in regard to Brexit. A no-deal scenario is bad for the UK and the EU and I do not believe it is in any of our interests at this stage to contemplate such a negative conclusion to the UK's membership of the European Union. Ireland has always been clear that it wants the closest possible future relationship between the EU and the UK. While it is, perhaps, not the kind of future we had envisaged when we both joined the European Union together many years ago, Ireland is clear that our place remains as a part of that Union, a home that we helped to build. Together with our EU partners we must now find a way to imagine a new relationship with our neighbours in the United Kingdom.

I ask all Deputies to support the motion in its current form, without amendment. Concerns have been raised, and amendments put forward in that regard, and the Tánaiste has already acknowledged they are important. However, a clear message of support for the draft withdrawal agreement text would send a message of solidarity, which as I said earlier, has been paramount to this entire process.

I commend the motion to the House.

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