Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak following the publication of this legislation, which, as has been rightly stated by many, none of us wants to see implemented. Nonetheless, it is legislation that is entirely necessary in order for the Government and the Dáil to be assured that, in so far as is possible, every eventuality which may affect the viability of many aspects of economic and social life is dealt with appropriately. There is some disappointment that this legislation was not brought forward earlier, particularly as other states have already introduced such legislation and in view of the fact that Brexit has the ability to affect our economy in a far more detrimental way than many other events. That said, there is still a short window of opportunity available and open to Members of the House to further scrutinise and analyse what is contained within the Bill. Those with specific responsibilities on behalf of their parties - and, by extension, the electorate - in the different departmental areas will do so in a way in which, I hope, will challenge the legislation to ensure that it is copper-fastened and ideally placed to meet the demands Brexit places upon us.

As other speakers indicated, it is unfortunate that, after two years, we are still not in a position to understand the implications or to respond to those implications with a safety net of a withdrawal deal or, indeed, the prospect of future relations being agreed by the parties, that is, the EU 27 and the UK. An unfortunate by-product has been the implications for and the affect on Anglo-Irish relations, Anglo-Irish agreements and Anglo-Irish processes. That is something of which we have to be conscious. I am sure the Government is wholly conscious of it in terms of always seeking to provide for improvements in that regard, especially considering the difficulties that have been posed by the lack of a deal having been forthcoming from the parties. We are also conscious of the effect it has had on the ability of the Good Friday Agreement to provide the type of mechanisms that were envisaged, whereby there would be a sharing of interests, of focus and of unity of purpose by North and South. There is also the unfortunate collapse of the Assembly and the unfortunate failure on the part of those parties elected to it, in the main, to reach an agreement by which that could be up and running, and could also be contributing to a resolution and to the preparedness and readiness of this island to meet the demands that will be placed upon it. That is unfortunate but, again, it heightens the expectations on the part of others for the Dáil to be unified and to have that unity of purpose that is lacking elsewhere.

A by-product of arriving at that conclusion, and arriving at a juncture where the Dáil can be unified in such a way, is to have those like ourselves set aside what difficulties and failings there have been. There have been many, with some patently obvious in regard to the way in which the Government has implemented the programme for Government, for example, in regard to health and housing, among other areas. A decision was taken by Fianna Fáil, primarily, which is a very mature decision which puts at its root the interests of the island, of the economy and of our security. That has to be commended and acknowledged. I know many members of the parties opposite respect and appreciate that. Our patience has been tested by some comments by Members opposite. I am conscious of what the Taoiseach said last week, when he asked whether the bona fides of Fianna Fáil would be as we professed them to be if we were riding high in the polls. I am sure, on reflection, he would agree that was not an appropriate comment to make. Our intentions and bona fides are wholly appropriate. We have proven in the past that we put the national interest before party interest, to our detriment, some might say, in regard to the political return derived from that commitment to the nation and to the nation's finances through ensuring there was a pathway in place to deal with the gap between income and expenditure.

We recognise and appreciate that those in government are there as a result of a decision of the Dáil and not necessarily that of the people. It was a convoluted election result and the responsibility passed to us. The Government has a great privilege. I know all of the members of the Government treat that privilege as they should but I do not take kindly to comments made by a member of Fine Gael in this House last week during a Sinn Féin motion. He sought to bring up our association with Anglo Irish Bank and the banking crisis. That is despite an independent assessment finding that Fianna Fáil was not the cause of the crash. That crash occurred not only in this country but in many other countries in Europe and the world. Those comments were noticed. As somebody else said, however, when they go low, we go high.

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