David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It appears once again that we could be heading for a cliff edge with Brexit. All of this is depressingly familiar when we all look at the leadership contest within the Tory Party in Britain with, as Deputy McDonald referred to, all of the runners and riders setting out their stalls.

There are huge contradictions in what all the contenders are saying, including the front runner, Mr. Boris Johnson. We have all been here before. Two years ago we heard similar messages from Teresa May, trying to please those on all sides in her party, trying to be all things to all people and maybe taking the view that Europe or the Irish Government would blink when it came to the Border and the interests of the Irish people. That did not happen and we remained steadfast. While there has been a critical engagement between Opposition and Government on many aspects of Brexit, we have all pretty much remained on the same page regarding the need to protect the Border and the backstop and to ensure that Irish interests are fully protected. We cannot afford two more years of what has preceded this, namely, bickering within the Tory Party, politicians in Westminster not being able to sort out what they need to sort out, and all types of fantastical solutions that will not work for Ireland made by people who have no interest in or understanding of Ireland or the Border from an economic or political point of view. The Border was a deeply political issue previously but it was depoliticised to an extent as a consequence of the Good Friday Agreement and the other peace agreements.

There is real concern as we watch what is happening at Westminster. There is always the potential for a new Prime Minister to make a different request. The Taoiseach stated that he is prepared to listen to whatever requests are made. That is legitimate. We should always listen to any reasonable proposals. Equally, we have to make very clear to politicians in Westminster and to the new Prime Minister, whoever that is, that there can be no resiling from the fundamentals of the withdrawal agreement. Those details were worked out very carefully and very intelligently over a long period. There was a series of compromises on all sides to reach an agreement. For Ireland it was the bare minimum. We would have wanted the withdrawal agreement and the protocol to have gone much further in the areas of rights and a range of other areas too. It was the bare minimum that was necessary to secure the future of our people and the economies, North and South, by avoiding any Border checks and physical infrastructure or inspections. We cannot resile from that. There can be no going back on it. Tory leadership contenders talk about buying out, as if they can somehow purchase a solution in respect of the Irish Border. It beggars belief that after two years of painful negotiations there are still people in the Tory Party operating on the basis of that mindset. I hope that at the European Council meeting it will be made very clear that, as Mr. Barnier stated earlier today, there can be no renegotiation of the withdrawal agreement. Clarifications, more and further clarifications have been given to the British Government but finally the British Labour Party, the Tory Party and those who hold a majority in Westminster and do not want a hard crash have to come with a solution. Boris Johnson or whoever is the leader of the Tory Party, will meet all the same challenges that Teresa May met in the past two years. We have to remain steadfast, protect our interests and ensure that there is no resiling from the positions that have been agreed. I hope the Taoiseach will bring that message to this important meeting of the European Council meeting and that it will be the view of the other members of the Council.

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