John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The meeting of the European Council next week comes quite quickly after the special meeting of the Council on 1 and 2 October. The Council afforded the Taoiseach the opportunity to address the floor on the issue of the impact and implications of Brexit on this country. Brexit represents the critical issue on the European stage for Ireland at this juncture.

In the midst of the deteriorating situation across the country, with the growing number of cases of Covid-19 and the reaction to the Tánaiste's crass commentary on NPHET and the Chief Medical Officer, the fact that we have to address the potentially cataclysmic implications of Brexit compounds the sense of emergency at this time.

While the Council will have its own agenda to pursue, there is no more important political issue on this island than Brexit. On 1 January, Brexit will come into force. We do not know for certain whether that will be in the form of a no-deal Brexit, although it is looking increasingly likely that this may, unfortunately, be the case. The reality for this island is that a no-deal Brexit, particularly against the backdrop of Tory obtuseness and blatant disregard for international law, holds an alarming prospect for Ireland North and South. It is particularly alarming when we look at the potential impact of Brexit on the Irish economy, which is finely balanced at present, as we absorb the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Against all expectations, the Exchequer returns for the Irish economy are much higher than anticipated, a fact which belies the devastating impact on the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of workers and their families who are suffering, in particular those in the domestic services economy that has been devastated by Covid-19. This has been compounded by the decision of the Government to cut the pandemic unemployment payment.

The resilience of the Irish economy is down to the performance of the export economy. As recently as yesterday, the Central Bank argued that the recovery of the Irish economy will remain uneven but that a no-deal Brexit will seriously hamper any potential for growth that exists in the economy for next year. We face into the coming months with our domestic economy devastated by the pandemic and our national finances and ability to navigate a recovery through the current political and health emergency being largely reliant on the expert economy. We are faced with an equally potentially devastating crisis, namely, the phenomenon of Boris Johnson's Tory Government. It is a Government which has single-handedly succeeded in manufacturing this mess through a litany of arrogance, dishonesty and abject disregard for the democratic wishes of the people of Scotland and the North of Ireland.

The land bridge across Britain is effectively an artery which, in normal times, represents an important conduit for the Irish export economy to Britain and the European continent. During the pandemic it has transformed into one of several critical arteries working to keep the body of the Irish economy alive. Unless the Government, with time running out, possibilities lessening and confidence in its performance leave evaporating at an alarming rate, can live up to its responsibilities of leadership and deliver for the Irish economy, we are heading for serious difficulties.

It is not difficult to visualise an Irish Dunkirk, where, rather than the beaches of France, a sizeable section of the Irish export transport fleet will be left to perish on the parking lots and in the traffic jams of southern England. The Government must act now to protect the national interest. It is simply not sufficient to offer platitudes that suggest that the market will sort out the issue of new transport routes to Europe. This is one area where the Government must break with its performance to date and get the job done right.

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