Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I thought my contribution would not be appropriate, in that I am not going to address all the measures in this Bill, but it will be far more specific than the one I have just heard, which went all around the Houses, the world and history. Fair play to Deputy Jim O'Callaghan. He made a fine speech, none of which I agree with.

I will start by sounding a note of caution. We in this House need to be more realistic about our friends in Washington and Brussels. Echoed across this House is the mistaken belief that Joe Biden will be the saviour of the Good Friday Agreement and the guarantor of peace in this country. Similar hopes have been expressed repeatedly in this House about the great and the good of the European Union acting as a protector of our interests in this island and as a bastion against a hard Border. Joe Biden might know about Mayo's GAA hopes and Jean-Claude Juncker, Donald Tusk and Michel Barnier may continually wax lyrical about how much they love Ireland but, ultimately, it would be the height of folly for us to believe that the interests of the ordinary people of Ireland, North and South, will be the determining factor in either Joe Biden's or the EU's policies in the months ahead. Joe Biden will do whatever is in the interests of US capitalism, not what is best for Mayo or Ballina. Mr. Juncker stated clearly last year:

We have to make the sure the interests of the European Union and of the internal market will be preserved. An animal entering Northern Ireland without border control can enter the European Union without any kind of control via the southern part of the Irish island. This cannot happen. We have to preserve the health and safety of our citizens.

The Minister of State can interpret that how he likes but that is clear to me that-----

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