Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Tá áthas orm deis labhartha a fháil maidir leis an mBille tábhachtach seo, an Bille omnibus a bheidh ag dul tríd an Teach sa chúpla seachtain amach romhainn. Is mór an trua go bhfuil ar an Rialtas an Bille seo a chur os comhair na Dála agus a chur i gcrích roimh 29 Márta. I welcome the publication of this omnibus Bill, which deals with various Departments. It is important that it is in place and enacted by 29 March. It is unfortunate, as many speakers have said, that the Government must do this. It appears the House will unanimously accept Second Stage of the Bill because it is in the best interests of our country.

We are living through very uncertain times and, whether there is a deal or no deal, and I hope there will be a deal, Ireland will suffer and there will be serious implications that are nearly too horrendous to contemplate. Think of the manner in which we have done business with the UK over the years and the close commercial and business relationship we have with it. Since 1973, we have been a member of the European Union. We have had the customs union and the Single European Act. I can remember only too well during my early days in the House and prior to it when we were exporting from Donegal, trying to be in Lifford on time to get across to Strabane, and having the CU6 form filled in and approved to try to get a boat out of Larne to Stranraer before the late sailing to get perishable goods or otherwise to various parts of the UK and onwards to Europe. It was a nightmare but the Single European Act removed the economic borders, which meant we could go from west Donegal to the southern ends of Europe without any hindrance. It is frightening to think we will have to relive this again, in the sense that people going from Lifford to Strabane, from Bridgend to Derry, from Monaghan to Armagh or from Dundalk to Newry will have these as their first crossings. After that they will go into the UK and, if they are going on to mainland Europe, they will go from Harwich to the Hook of Holland, leaving a third country to go into the European Union, and it would be the same going from Dover to Calais or the many other crossings through the UK landbridge.

When I think of my county and the necklace of counties on both sides of the Border, there are 300 crossings along the 500 km Border. I remember only too well farmers who were trying to get from Donegal to Tyrone or Derry had to travel miles along approved roads to get from one side of their farm to the other. All this has changed dramatically. It could happen again but I hope it will not. It is quite possible that it could.

The Good Friday Agreement played an important role, as did the Single European Act and the customs union as a result of our membership of the European Union, which we joined in 1973. Subsequently we had the free market for our goods, services and people. As it is today, we have a market of 500 million. If the UK decides to exit Europe it will leave us with direct access to 435 million people. If we import or export to the UK through the WTO there will be tariffs, and it does not matter how low they might be as they will be an extra burden not only on us but on the citizens of the UK.

The European Union has played an important role in the peace process in this country. There are enough of us here to remember those days in the 1970s and 1980s when the European Union was a major donor to the International Fund for Ireland, together with the other countries that contributed. This was to help both sides of the community on both sides of the Border and the necklace of six counties along the Border. Subsequent to this, after the peace process, I recalled very well Jacques Delors, who was President of the Commission at the time, stating Europe would respond in a positive and practical way. The only positive and practical way it could do so immediately was to increase its contribution to the International Fund for Ireland and this is what it did. Immediately, it set about establishing the peace and reconciliation fund and, subsequent to this, the PEACE I, II, III and IV programmes. All of these played an important role, as did the Good Friday Agreement. We must ensure none of this is unravelled in any way.

It is easy to say now that the referendum in the UK should never have happened. I knew Nigel Farage when we were both Members of the European Parliament. On the night of the count he conceded defeat but when we woke up in the morning a decision had been taken by the people in the UK. On such a major decision the majority was only a couple of percent and I believe the majority of British people did not want it, particularly the young people in the UK. Let us hope there may be a second referendum and that it might be overturned. Perhaps this is too much to hope for.

The referendum followed the referendum the then British Prime Minister, David Cameron, offered and held in Scotland on independence, which was rejected. He took a calculated risk in the best interests of the Conservative Party to give an opportunity to secure more seats. Of course, it backfired on him. There is an obligation on us, on the Government and on every Member of the House to support the Government and the Bill on Second Stage and to put the contingency plans in place. We hope, as many Members have said, that they do not have to be implemented. I hope they will gather dust on the shelves of the various Departments.

I will now refer to a number of specific areas, including fisheries and the marine. Fish do not recognise geographic or political boundaries. Over the years, we have had a good relationship with the UK, even before our membership of the European Union in 1973. The Common Fisheries Policy was introduced in 1983. We have always had the right to fish in UK waters but, as of 30 March, the UK could decide that all vessels that fish in its waters as a result of membership of the European Union will no longer have the right to do so. I hope this will not happen, I understand there is an informal arrangement with the UK whereby we will be able to fish for this year's total allowable catches and quotas.

However, there is great uncertainty in the fishing industry because fishermen are fearful that that agreement may not be upheld. I wish to placate fishermen by saying that I am confident that the agreement will hold until the end of the year. What is the result of that uncertainty? It is that fishermen are front-loading and trying to catch all of their quotas before 29 March. That is not good for the industry. It means that extra fish are going on the market, which is reducing prices, rather than the quotas being managed over a longer period. Let us hope that the European Union will come to an arrangement with the UK in regard to fishing in those waters. Ireland cannot come to a bilateral arrangement with the UK.

I am somewhat disappointed at the preparatory work done by the Government, particularly the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed. He has met representatives of the fishing industry on a number of occasions but there is an attitude that it will be okay on the day. Unfortunately, we must be much more serious about this issue than that. There is a lack of progress in the discussions between the European Union and the UK. When the EU's chief negotiator, Mr. Michel Barnier, came to the House, I discussed with him my fears for the fishing sector. I was very pleased when he indicated at that time that negotiations in regard to fish and trade would be inextricably linked because the UK exports its fish to mainland Europe and Ireland. It is to be hoped that there could be a quid pro quoregarding fishing in UK waters because UK fishermen must export to the European Union.

On 19 December, the Government published the Brexit contingency action plan, but it contained no reference to the marine sector. I received some clarification in that regard but I am not happy with it. It is little wonder that the marine and seafood sectors are getting edgy and nervous. They are worried about 29 March and whether all of the quotas should be caught by then. Some 60% of our mackerel and 40% of our nephrops - a valuable catch - are caught in UK waters. Some 30% of our overall fish catch is caught in UK waters. In that light, it is no wonder that the industry is very concerned. It must be protected. I called on the Minister at the time to establish a marine forum and I again call on the Minister and the Government to so do. The Minister met representatives of the industry in Clonakilty last week but no great progress was made. I want him to work with the eight coastal states in the EU which have similar problems to ours and which are working as one to try to secure the best possible deal.

The Tánaiste, as a former Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, will be aware of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. We have been told it will be available to compensate the marine sector. However, that is not good enough. That fund is already fully required. It must not be robbed to provide a Brexit fund for the fishery sector. Rather, additional funding must be made available. We have been told that funding will be made available for other sectors. I call on the Government to ensure that an additional contingency fund is made available for the marine sector in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

In the past 800 years of history between Ireland and the United Kingdom, a boundary never existed in the Irish Sea. Of course, there was a Border between North and South and Members are well aware of the difficulties it created in regard to importing and exporting. If I were to choose the two most significant moments in the almost 40 years since I was first elected in 1979, they would be the peace process and the removal of the economic border. I remember travelling to Dublin through the years, crossing the Border at Lifford or Clady and again into County Monaghan. Over those years, there were long queues heading back to County Donegal. Overnight, all of those queues were removed. The peace process brought about the removal of the military and economic borders. I am not scaremongering, but I do not see how we can have a seamless Border if there is no deal, or even if there is a deal. I wish the Government, the Tánaiste, Mr. Barnier and all those negotiating at this late stage well. Perhaps it is because Brexit is only a few weeks away that people's minds are now being focused and they realise the pitfalls that might lie before us. It is to be hoped that an agreement will be reached in the coming weeks.

Some 67% of our marine exports use the landbridge through the UK road network to access their markets. I have referred to the difficulties that will be experienced going into and out of a third country en routeto mainland Europe. I am somewhat worried that the marine sector is not getting the same attention as other sectors. The fishing sector has provided sustainable full and part-time employment to coastal communities in the most rural areas of this country where there was no alternative source of employment. We must ensure that it can continue to provide such employment.

On health, I was a Minister of State at the Department of Health from 2006 to 2008, during which period we had our first meeting with the then Northern Irish Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, Michael McGimpsey. That meeting in Dundalk led to an agreement between the Governments to provide funding for a cancer unit at Altnagelvin Area Hospital. That was chosen as the location for the unit on the advice of specialists who told us that such a unit required a critical mass. Donegal and western Ulster provided that critical mass. Of course, many people from Donegal and other parts of the country now use the HSE treatment abroad scheme or the cross-border directive scheme which work well, provided that one can raise the cost of the procedure. One is then refunded by the very efficient HSE overseas office in Kilkenny which deals with those schemes. The Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, stated in his contribution on the Bill yesterday evening that there should not be any issue continuing those schemes. If a bilateral agreement is required to facilitate that, temporarily or otherwise, then so be it.

On transport, many residents in this country hold UK driving licences, which can be converted into Irish licences. My understanding, which was confirmed by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, when speaking on the Bill, is that those licences must be converted before 29 March. However, that requirement makes little sense. Will the Minister, Deputy Ross, provide further clarification in that regard? Many people in this country hold UK licences. If those licences have not been converted by 29 March, will they no longer be valid? If there is to be a bilateral agreement with the UK in regard to driving licences, as there is with certain other countries, can that be made retrospective? It is to be hoped that that is possible. Every effort must be made to deal with that issue.

There are many other issues to which I do not have time to refer, such as cross-Border workers and the movement of livestock in Border counties. Those are issues that need to be clarified.

These are uncharted waters. In short, I wish the Tánaiste and the Government well in the negotiations in which they will be involved over the coming weeks. Let us hope that there will be a deal. From an Irish point of view, it would probably be preferable for the decision of the British people to be overturned and another referendum held.

We can be criticised in this country for referendums but at least when we have one, there is a referendum commission. The Irish are well aware of what they are voting for. The pros and cons are laid out before them. This did not happen in the United Kingdom. It is easy to be wise after the event but I am quite sure that if there is to be another referendum, the people of the UK will be much more wise and will, I hope, overturn this decision.

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