David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In June 2016, when we woke up one morning and found out that Britain had voted to leave the European Union, I do not believe any of us fully expected what would unfold over the two and a half years that followed. Many of us who watched the referendum campaign in Britain, and some of us who campaigned for the North to stay in the European Union and to keep the entire island in the European Union for all the understandable reasons, including to protect the Good Friday Agreement and to avoid a hard border, knew what the implications would be for Ireland. We knew that the utopian Brexit that was sold to people in Britain was a pack of lies that would come crashing down around the ears of those who had delivered that message.

In many respects it was amazing to see what unfolded. When Project Yellowhammer was published last week, it referred to medicine shortages, food shortages and delays at ports in Britain. It stated that the most vulnerable in society would be the ones who would pay the biggest price. It refers to the consequences for Ireland and a hard border, yet there are still some people who believe that is the best option rather than facing up to the reality that the Brexit utopian dream they were promised would never be a reality.

Collectively, as politicians in this House and in the North where a majority of politicians favour a more sensible approach and argue for the North to stay in the customs union and the Single Market, we have had to deal with the various crises within the British Tory Party. I happen to believe, and I have said it on several occasions, that the Tánaiste has done a very good job negotiating with his European partners in getting the Irish protocol and the backstop. I am very proud that we in this State and certainly the political parties and the vast majority of politicians, although not all of them, did not support Brexit. A small number in this House were comfortable to support Brexit, albeit a different type of Brexit. If we contrast that unity and the approach that was taken here in Ireland with what is happening in Westminster, within both the Tory Party and the Labour Party, we can be proud of what we achieved.

The problem is that we were not always in control. We are veering towards a hard crash, not because of anything we have done or not done but because we have a British Prime Minister who is reckless and always knew that, rather than utopian, the outcome was going to be dystopian. Some are thriving in the chaos because they want people to believe that the people in Ireland, the Irish Government and Europe are at fault. According to them, the reason Brexit is being frustrated is not that the British people were sold a pup but the result of what is happening in Europe or Ireland. All of that is very disingenuous but it is also very harmful.

What we must do at this crucial time is hold our nerve. There is a great deal of pressure on the European Union and Ireland because people do not want to see a hard crash but the alternative is to have some sort of compromise that will not work. I do not believe one can compromise with Boris Johnson or the hard right in the Tory Party. They have to come forward with the solutions but they have not done so, yet we are the ones who are now paying the price.

There have been comments from both Fianna Fáil and from some of my colleagues about Brexit preparedness. The Government will argue its corner, while others will say we should do more. We are at a critical stage in this process. We have watched the drama unfold over two and a half years. We have all gone through this journey collectively and in an honourable way to get to the point we are at now. While we reach this critical stage over the next few weeks, it is very important that we maintain that political consensus while standing up for the interests of the people of Ireland and make sure that we are not the ones who will pay a price because of the foolhardy and selfish politics we have seen from Boris Johnson and his colleagues in the past number of years.

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