Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to comment on the Final Stage of the Bill. Unfortunately, I was not here last week when it was introduced and went through Second Stage. So much of what we have achieved in these negotiations has been due to the absolute support of our member state colleagues in the European Union. I therefore did not think it was appropriate to cancel my visit to meet foreign and European ministers in Lithuania and Latvia. I reassure colleagues that support from the Nordic, Baltic and all member states is as strong as it was two and a half years ago when this process started.

I regret that we are here discussing this legislation. In saying that, I thank all the Deputies, as have the Tánaiste and many others, for their support and co-operation. We have clearly shown as a Parliament that while we might have our political differences in outlooks and opinions, we can come together to represent the people on this island and ensure that their rights, businesses and livelihoods and the peace on this island can be and will be protected. We have shown that clearly through the passage of this legislation as quickly as we have. I have no doubt it will go through the Seanad just as quickly.

I thank the officials from our Department and all the Departments. This has entailed a colossal amount of work. Despite comments that we did not introduce this and work on it as soon as we should have, this has been a body of work in the making for more than two years, involving a considerable amount of outreach in our Department engaging with State agencies and also with individuals and sectors across the board. A large amount of work has gone into this for some time. It would have been premature to introduce it before this stage because our primary focus has always been to ensure we had an orderly withdrawal of the UK from the European Union, and that remains our focus.

As the Tánaiste rightly said when introducing this legislation, we hope it will sit on the shelf and never need to be used. Irrespective of that, irrespective of the outcome of the next couple of weeks, and irrespective of whether we have a deal, which we hope we will, Brexit means change. The UK will become a third country in terms of trade, customs or otherwise. It is incumbent on everybody to look at how it how it might impact on their lives, their businesses, their livelihoods and their industries. For those who have not engaged at this stage I again reassure them that the support, information and funding are available and the Government will continue to work with them to ensure they are impacted as little as possible irrespective of the outcome.

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