Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As we are all aware, in the past few weeks the British have done a U-turn on the withdrawal agreement. Businesses throughout our island have already been brought to their knees due to the pandemic and now they again have to contend with the shock of a potential no-deal Brexit. The British are clearly not prepared for this eventuality and their chaotic approach will affect Irish businesses on both sides of the Border.

We heard this week about the latest problems affecting hauliers due to delays and queues at Dover. It is a farce. If the British proceed with their plan to break international law, it will have a detrimental effect on everybody on this island. Workers in the North could be affected by weaker labour and environmental standards to cut production costs in Britain. In this State, we face the potential for price increases in shops and the possibility of exports to Britain being replaced with cheap imports. I represent a Border community and constituency, and I reiterate there will be no hard border here. It will not happen. We fought hard for the Irish protocol to protect us from all this and to protect the Good Friday Agreement, and the British now want to destroy all that with their no-deal Brexit. The Government has to step up and fight for the rights of all Irish citizens on this island and to protect communities and businesses. We cannot expect the EU to fight this on its own. The Government needs to take a much stronger approach to this.

I could not understand why Government Deputies were so surprised that the British would break the agreement. Anyone who watched the documentary "Unquiet Graves" last week will have been given a stark reminder of the British attitude towards Ireland and the Irish people. The British have never done right by the people in the North and, in fairness, nor have successive Governments down here either. We have to step up now and fight against the outrageous and arrogant behaviour of the Tories and protect our island, our peace and our communities.

We all know, of course, that the only logical solution to this mess is the reunification of our country. This very real conversation needs to start at Government level here and it needs to do so urgently.

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