Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Crowe.

I welcome the fact that agreement has been reached between the European institutions and Britain. I will reserve the well-deserved and effusive praise for Michel Barnier and others until the agreement is completely over the line and we have some certainty, but I commend Members on their efforts, including the Taoiseach, the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, An Tánaiste and others for an exhausting and long journey.

I am satisfied the agreement will ensure there is no hard border on the island of Ireland. I am satisfied there will be no veto given in respect of the Irish Brexit protections. It is important to say however, that there is no such thing as a good Brexit. No part of Ireland has consented to Brexit. It is being foisted on the North of Ireland against the express democratic wishes of the people. When we hear some, at the eleventh hour, reaching for the consent argument, it simply does not float. Those who have a concern about consent would have ensured at every stage that the rights and entitlements of everybody on the island were articulated and protected. There is no consent as the position of the people is to remain. What unionism, or at least a section of political unionism, now seeks is a veto. We have to manage and mediate our political affairs in a way that is civil, democratic and peaceful and in a way that yields protections for all of our people. That is our priority. We have to recognise that the unionist veto, or "the orange card" as it was called, has been played for generations but the veto days are over. That ship has sailed.

Let us be clear about one thing. The principle of consent, as hardwired into the Good Friday Agreement, is primarily concerned with the constitutional question - the issue of Irish unity. That question, to be put by way of referenda, will be answered and consented to by simple majority. The cross-community consents and provisions for petitions of concern relate to devolved matters only. The intention of these protections is to protect minority rights. Brexit is not a devolved matter. The Brexit protections will be codified in an international treaty. The Brexit protections are necessary to mitigate the worst of Brexit for the whole of Ireland and not just for the North. Those who claim this agreement breaches the Good Friday Agreement by refusing the DUP a veto on Brexit protections are simply wrong. They are dangerously wrong and I invite them to study the agreement again and to reassess their positions.

As a party, Sinn Féin has worked to defend Irish interests from the worst impacts of Brexit. Sinn Féin first made the case for a designated special status for the North within the European Union. The Oireachtas backed that position by way of a motion in February 2017. Any deal can only reduce the worst effects of Brexit. It can only every be a least worst option. The antics across the water in recent weeks and months have done little to allay people's fears around Brexit. It echoes the chaos we have witnessed for years. Westminster is undoubtedly a house of dysfunction and farce. It is clear that Irish interests will never been taken seriously there. Those who care about our economy, our peace and our future should be under no illusion about that. Those who argue for any self-respecting Irish democrat to insert themselves into that mayhem are stretching the boundaries of political sense and reality. None of us here in this country should underestimate for a second the level of division within parties, between parties and across British society, English society in particular, on the issue of Brexit. It is sad and alarming to see, but only they can fix that. We cannot fix that for them but we need a decision from them.

Critically, from our perspective, we need an agreement that delivers for Ireland. Whatever transpires, there will be significant and ongoing challenges for us. It should be obvious to everybody in this House that will see an increased and sustained move to undermine the Good Friday Agreement. That is under way. The example of the DeSouza judgment demonstrates that. This cannot be tolerated. The Government must be proactive and staunch in defending our peace agreements. Ireland's interests in any future trading relationship will have to promoted and protected. We must strategise for east-west trade and relationships to ensure we get the best economic and political outcomes for our island and for our next door neighbour. Ultimately, we need to start planning for Irish unity. I invite those who have their heads stuck in the sand to remove their heads without delay.

I want to address briefly the jailing of Catalan leaders for their alleged roles in the 1 October 2017 Catalan independence referendum.

The European Union cannot turn its face away from the brutal repression of the Catalan people by the Spanish state. It is not good enough to say it is an internal matter; it is far from it. It is a matter that tests the democratic bona fides of the European Union in the most profound and important ways. The Taoiseach and the Government must be to the forefront in insisting that the jailings be ended and that the European Union use all of its clout and influence to ensure dialogue, not prison, is the solution.

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