Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is interesting that there is so much talk generally in this House about something we do not know about. We do not yet know what is going to happen, and what effect it will have. If we knew what was going to happen, I wonder if there would be as much said about it. That is the difficulty.

In fairness, I have sympathy for the Government. It is probably the only time I will say in here that I have sympathy for the Government. It is between a rock and a hard place. How can one prepare and talk about what is going to happen with Brexit when one does not know? None of us knows. Many Members have said we should prepare for a hard Brexit and have put it out publicly. We could do all that, announce plans for a hard Brexit and spend the next six weeks or so planning for it and then it might not happen. We would all give out about the Government having spent money preparing for a hard Brexit if it did not happen and that we did not need to do all that was done.

In fairness, the Government is between a rock and a hard place. The Government cannot talk about what will happen because it does not know what will happen. Likewise, we cannot talk about it because we might influence the outcome. That is difficult, across the whole of Irish society. I come from Donegal as the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, is aware. Very few people talk about Brexit in Donegal. I find that interesting. Perhaps it is because in Donegal things happen that we can do nothing about anyway and we do not expect the Government to do anything for us. Whatever happens, we will just make the most of it and get on with it. Everybody knows it will happen but everybody also knows they will have to live the day after it happens as well and that life will continue. That is the reality. We are in a very difficult position in terms of how we plan for Brexit when we do not know what will happen and what will be put in place. We will not know until it happens. We have no control over what happens in that regard. We have to wait for the Brits to make up their minds and decide what they are going to do.

From an EU point of view, it is the best situation it could ever hope to be in because the EU can leave the Brits to squirm, which it has done for years at this stage, to wrangle with each other and tie each other up in knots. It is only when it comes down to the last hour or half hour that the deal will be done and Brexit will happen. Then the EU will have to stand up and say what it has done and what will be. At the moment, it suits to keep the Brits tied up in knots and that is fair enough, but it still leaves us in Ireland unclear as to what we can do.

The one thing we can do is ensure that all businesses in Ireland have an economic operators' registration and identification, EORI, number, regardless of whether there is a soft Brexit, a hard Brexit or any other kind of Brexit. After Brexit, if a business is exporting to England or importing from England it will have to have an EORI number. We should make sure that businesses are registered. From the briefing we had last week I am aware that is happening, which is positive. That is what we need to do and that is all we can do at the moment in terms of preparation, namely, to make sure that all of our businesses put such measures in place and know what is likely to be involved. We cannot say what exactly the nature of Brexit will be, but all we can hope for is that businesses are aware of what they need to do. I have had dealings with a couple of small businesses in Killybegs which are now getting their EORI numbers, which is important. All businesses that are exporting need to know that they have to get a number. We must send out that message. We are having so many debates in here and talking about something we do not know anything about, but at least we can build awareness to ensure businesses know they have to register for the EORI number and then they can take it from there depending on what form Brexit takes.

I do not want to say much more regarding Brexit. It is going to happen. We are in a very difficult situation that is outside our control. We can only deal with what is handed to us at the time. We have difficulty maintaining the integrity of the Good Friday Agreement and of the island of Ireland and also maintaining what is necessary for Brexit. I do not think they are compatible but we will have to find a way around that. I am sure we probably will in the end. All we can do is wait for that to happen and then do it. That is the reality. I do not know whether Brexit will take place on the specified date at the end of October or if there will be an extension of time. Mr. Johnson seems to be pushing for Brexit to go ahead and bringing it down to the wire is probably the best option for him in terms of negotiating and getting a deal done. We will have to wait and see what kind of Brexit comes out of it and then deal with it from that point onwards.

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