David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I signalled to the Tánaiste that I would raise these issues and he accepted.

I accept that the amendment proposed to insert a new section and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's ruling in that regard. I wish only to make a short intervention about important issues that we sought to include in the Bill by amending and strengthening it. We had a number of engagements with the Tánaiste and his officials. Deputies across the House have been supportive of the passage of the Bill, as demonstrated by the fact that we have almost finished. Nobody has sought to delay the Bill in any way.

The Bills Office grouped the amendments into this new section 92. That was not our doing. The amendments deal with substantial issues that go to the heart of many of the difficulties which will impact on Ireland in the event of a hard crash. They impact deeply for the people that we represent, North and South, especially in the North but also in the Border counties. We tabled an amendment that would put a responsibility on the Irish Government to establish an all-island forum on preparing for Irish unity and that that forum would sit for a period prescribed by the Minister with people appointed by the Minister. That body would report to the Dáil and allow the Dáil to formulate a White Paper on Irish unity.

A comment was made by the leader of the SDLP, who said there would be a cold place in hell for people who call for a Border poll but do not have any idea of what that united Ireland would look like. That was disingenuous, given that we have been screaming from the rooftops at successive Irish Governments for years to plan for Irish unity. We called for the establishment of an Oireachtas committee to deal with it. We now call for this forum and we have called on the Government to bring forward a White Paper. The purpose of the White Paper is to do precisely that. It is to outline the steps necessary to bring about Irish unity in a Border poll.

All of this is in the context of a hard crash. If there is a hard crash out of the European Union by Britain, that means the North coming out of the European Union as was acknowledged earlier. That raises serious questions about their rights as European citizens but it also raises serious issues for the Border. We would have a European frontier on the island of Ireland, with the North out of the customs union and Single Market, yet there are no provisions in this Bill and we do not expect this Bill to deal with these issues. Of course it could not. There is no provision even to deal with the most logical outcome to make sure that we avoid any hardening of the Border, that is to end the Border and partition once and for all. All of the opinion polls in the North and the South show that, in the context of a hard Brexit, a majority of people in the North and South would vote for a united Ireland. I appeal to the Minister to be cognisant of that and to understand where people in the North are coming from.

Another amendment which was ruled out of order and which is important to people in the North is that, while they will have certain protections afforded to them as a consequence of the common travel area and from this omnibus Bill, they will not have political representation. It is no good for Fine Gael to say that it will put forward a candidate from the North and that that person will represent people in the North.

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