Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

The EU has been put forward as the force that will safeguard the interests of people on this island during Brexit. Yet it has played a role in the Spanish state's horrendous actions in Catalonia, not only during the referendum but also in the draconian imprisonment of its people. Seven pro-independence leaders have been sentenced to between ten and 12 years in prison by an EU country. The response of workers and youth in Catalonia has been both swift and angry. I do not have much faith in this Government because it has maintained a dumb silence throughout the whole fiasco. Will the Government condemn the Spanish state for its repressive actions? A general strike looks likely in Catalonia, which I would support. The Catalan people also need solidarity from the rest of Spain, as well as Europe and beyond. What the Spanish state is doing is not very different from what is happening in Hong Kong. All political prisoners in Catalonia should be freed and granted the right to self-determination. That self-determination must allow for real change in people's lives, which would lead to a socialist republic in Catalonia.

I refer to Brexit. We keep hearing that a deal is imminent but we do not know whether it will happen or what it might contain, so I will make some general points. We know who attended the negotiations, namely, the Tory Government headed up by Boris Johnson, who is a hard-right leader, the European Union and Fine Gael. These people, who will ultimately write the agreement, do not represent the interests of working-class people, Protestant or Catholic, North or South, rather, they represent the interests of big business. Neoliberalism has been written into these agreements from the outset, particularly in the context of their complete opposition to State intervention, State ownership, public home building, etc. The bargain-basement Brexit that Boris Johnson and the Tories would like is on the cards. I emphasise that there can be absolutely no hardening of borders, North, South, east or west, which would lead to a further increase in sectarian tensions in the North.

Workers have only themselves to rely on when jobs are put at risk, which is a potential outcome of Brexit. Harland and Wolff in Belfast and Wrightbus in Ballymena are two brilliant examples of that. Those jobs have been successfully defended by trade unions and militant and determined action which mobilised support from the local communities. New owners are now taking over those companies due to the hard stand taken by those workers. We need working-class action by the trade union movement in order to use workers' strength to defend jobs and living conditions in any Brexit outcome. That is what will have an impact.

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