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

I thank the Deputies for their questions. Deputy McDonald asked about representation for Northern Ireland in the European Parliament after Brexit. The sad reality is that after Brexit, Northern Ireland will no longer be part of the European Union. We hope it is the case that if the withdrawal agreement is ratified, important elements of EU law and regulations will continue to apply in Northern Ireland, but that will not change the fact that the United Kingdom as a whole will leave the European Union. Northern Ireland, against the will of the majority in it, is being taken out of the European Union and will leave with the rest of the United Kingdom. No non-EU country or territory has representation in the European Parliament.

Provision is made for accession countries to have observers but it is not the case that any non-EU country or non-EU territory is represented in the European Parliament. An issue could arise whereby, similar to accession countries, Northern Ireland could have observers in the European Parliament, perhaps contributing to the debate, particularly when it comes to rules and regulations that may apply to Northern Ireland. One of the difficulties I have is it is not something we can impose on Northern Ireland from here. It has to be something that a Northern Ireland Executive or Assembly seeks. We do our best on all occasions to preserve the rights of EU citizens who will be living in Northern Ireland after Brexit and to maximise the freedoms and benefits they will continue to receive. We are slightly weakened by the fact it is the Government in Dublin asking for those things and not a Northern Ireland Assembly or Executive. In many cases, Northern Ireland elected representatives are saying they do not want them. It has definitely weakened our position.

It is important to make a distinction between citizens' rights and rights that are linked to residency. We have ensured Irish citizens living in Northern Ireland will continue to be EU citizens and have all the rights that come with EU citizenship. That is the right to travel freely, work, study and access education in any part of the European Union. An Irish citizen who lives in Northern Ireland, for example, Belfast or Derry, will be able to work in Berlin, study in Athens and travel freely to Spain. A British citizen living in Belfast might not be able to do those things. He or she might need a work visa or work permit or some other sort of permission to do those things. Irish citizens in Northern Ireland, by virtue of being EU citizens, will continue to have all the rights that are attached to citizenship.

However, there are some rights that are linked to residency in the same way an Irish citizen living in Canada does not have the same rights as an Irish citizen living in Ireland. Rights that are linked to residency will be more difficult to secure but we want to secure them. We have had some positive discussions on this. The rights we are seeking to secure are the ability of Irish citizens in Northern Ireland to continue to participate in programmes such as Erasmus and to continue to benefit from the European health insurance card. We are getting a good hearing on those things in the European Union. We would have a much better chance of achieving them if there was a deputy First Minister and First Minister from Northern Ireland also looking for them. It would put us in a much stronger position.

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