Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I concur with Deputy Micheál Martin. Mr. Mark Durkan very much deserves his honours. He was a very effective politician as a Minister and an MP. He is an able persuader and a witty and articulate parliamentarian. He made a very thoughtful but also very witty speech on the night. I regret that he lost his seat because it has left the city of Derry unrepresented in Westminster, which leaves Derry and the residents of the Foyle constituency without a vote on Brexit.

We understand there will be a series of votes in the House of Commons; it will not just be a simple "Yes" or "No" vote on the withdrawal agreement. It will be possible for MPs to table amendments on which there will be votes. There could be specific votes on the backstop and on whether the United Kingdom should remain in the EU customs union. That matter was only defeated by three votes a few months ago when MPs last voted on it. There could be a vote on whether the UK should stay in the Single Market. The Scottish National Party, SNP, is strongly pushing that option. There could even be a vote on whether there should be a people's vote. It is regrettable that seven constituencies in Northern Ireland will be disenfranchised and will not have a say on this important matter that affects them so much.

On a level beyond simple arithmetic, I am also concerned that many MPs in the House of Commons are not hearing the full story from Northern Ireland. Many English MPs - Deputy McDonald is right to identify much of this as an English phenomenon - do not know a great deal about Northern Ireland. They do not read the Belfast Telegraphor the Irish News. They are not really hearing from business people or farmers in Northern Ireland. They are hearing what they are hearing around the tea and coffee rooms and bars in Westminster. That is why it is important to be there and Sinn Féin MPs are not. The people of Northern Ireland are being badly let down in that regard.

I was asked about the game plan. To get the assembly and the Executive back up and running, we want to work with the British Government to encourage the two major parties, the DUP and Sinn Féin, to come together, make compromises, put aside their differences and build trust. We want them to form an Executive and restore the assembly. It is my hope that if and when the United Kingdom Parliament at Westminster approves the withdrawal agreement, then at least we will have certainty about what is going to happen and what is not going to happen for the next two years or more. I hope that allows a window of opportunity for the parties to come together and to agree to the establishment of an Executive and assembly again. In the absence of that, we will ensure that the other institutions, the British-Irish Council and the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, work, operate and meet.

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