Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We welcome the opportunity to express solidarity with everybody else in this House in trying to ensure there is a united voice in defending Ireland's integrity in this process. Government and the parliament have a key role to keep united in that focus. We are however as entitled as anybody else to highlight a deficiency or inadequacy in preparedness when we believe there is a need to do so. At the least this House has been supportive of the approach taken by the Government's effort and the Parliament in general. The European Union has expressed absolute solidarity with us in respect of the backstop and the need to ensure that we do not have any form of physical infrastructure for a border with customs inspections, lack of movement of people, goods and services on the island. Expressing solidarity and ensuring the backstop is part of a policy we have to ask how we get to a stage where the United Kingdom can accept its importance on the island of Ireland. Having seen the debate over the past few days in Westminster and the fact that the majority of the people have said they want to avoid a no-deal Brexit we need them to be firm in their approach and to publish their views on how best to proceed while avoiding a hard Brexit.

It will need leadership, not only from Prime Minister May but from all leaders of political parties and the body politic of Westminster. We need the middle ground in Westminster to take ownership of this, otherwise they will lead their own people collectively over the cliff and in doing so they will have chain-balled us with them. It could have a very damaging impact on the social, cultural and political landscape of the island.

I have listened to the views of some of the Conservative MPs on the backstop, their dismissal of the issue and the importance of there being no physical infrastructure on the Border. It has to be re-emphasised on a continual basis. We need to ensure there is no physical infrastructure whatsoever because it would have a very damning impact on the island of Ireland from a commercial, cultural and social point of view. Most importantly, from a political perspective, it would impact on what we have achieved in the Good Friday Agreement and what has flowed from it in terms of peace and normalisation and on where we have come since the difficulties of the Troubles and the carnage in the North over many years. It is important to put it on the record and to explain to the many MPs who seem to dismiss it that it is very significant. They have an obligation as a people and a parliament to uphold the Good Friday Agreement. It is an agreement signed by two sovereigns to bring about a lasting peace. Anything that diminishes it undermines that particular agreement. They should be reminded of their obligations on it.

I understand the difficulties Theresa May is in and the dependence she has on the DUP but, as Deputy Breathnach highlighted, it is not too long ago we had people dying on the island of Ireland, particularly in the northern part of the island, over political views. Some of the people who are now indicating they do not view the backstop as an essential component are people whose party and supporters in previous times were protagonists in the political impasse and violence that flowed in the North. They are realities. It was not so long ago, as Deputy Breathnach outlined. That is the importance.

In terms of trade, we need to very quickly address the issue of logistics in the event of a logjam in the south of England in terms of ports and their capacity. We need to ensure we have roll-on, roll-off and that we can access additional ferry capacity for roll-on, roll-off in the event of there being a hard Brexit and huge difficulties in logistics in using the south of England as a landbridge. I urge the Government to use Enterprise Ireland and all the other agencies to be as prepared as possible and to have additional capacity identified in terms of roll-on, roll-off ferries. What we have there will not be able to transport all the trucks from Rosslare, Dublin and elsewhere directly to the Continent if the issue of the south of England landbridge becomes an impasse. I urge the Government to use all available information and the agencies that compile it to see where they can locate additional shipping if it is required.

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