Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will start with a specific provision in the Bill, which states that a tourist from a non-EU country has to purchase something with a value of more than €175 to get the VAT rebate. This has been an incredibly important scheme for craft shops and other businesses around the country, particularly in areas where a high proportion of the economy is based on tourism. There are many jobs involved. All the craft shop owners will say that while these tourists might make multiple purchases in one shop and might spend quite a bit of money, the individual purchases would not come to €175. Like everyone else, I recognise that the island of Britain joining its neighbouring island, the Isle of Man, outside the European Union is going to change the world quite dramatically because of its sheer population.

I understand there are already good safeguards in the Bill to ensure this process is not abused by people from our neighbouring island. Even though technically the North of Ireland is going to be outside of the European Union, in lots of other ways it is going to be in it. In this case, it will be considered to be in the European Union. Accordingly, one will not be able to go into the North of Ireland, buy one's goods, claim the VAT and go out.

I hope we get good news on this before the Bill goes through the Dáil and that we see a more tourism friendly approach to it. It would be much preferred if more of the goods under this scheme were made in the country. We must ensure more of our tourism product is actually produced on the island of Ireland. When we look at it in the round, we are going over the top here to achieve something that might not happen in the way people fear. The only people from Britain who would be able to do this would be those who came here and left the island again. As I said, there is no shortcut through the North of Ireland on this scheme.

It is amazing watching the television these days. When Brexit was not happening, day and night, all we got on the television was Brexit. When we were really far away from it, as was shown subsequently, if one looked at RTÉ news, a whole section was devoted Brexit issues. Now that we are coming up to the real wall, it does not seem to be worrying the media as much as one would have thought.

I hope an agreement will be reached. It is going to take flexibility and goodwill on all sides. It is a pity that Europe did not recognise earlier that, whether Europe or we on this island liked it, the British people had a referendum and made their choice. We should have all respected that from the beginning. It seemed, however, that a lot of people spent a lot of time trying to tell them that they made the wrong decision, that it was all a big mistake and that they were badly informed. Last Christmas, whether we liked it or not, the British reaffirmed that decision by putting the Conservative Party strongly back into government on a "Get Brexit Done" ticket. We have lost time when we could have been working out the modalities of this. Instead of trying to persuade them that they had made a big mistake, we should have recognised their sovereignty on this issue on the island of Britain.

I recognise, of course, that events which happened 100 years ago have come back to haunt us and we are having an unforeseen difficulty on this island. From the beginning, I summed up that difficulty as a case in which one could not accept a border on the island but one would have to accept the sensitivity of the unionist pro-Brexit population - who are in the minority but a large minority at that - and that putting a border in the Irish Sea would send wrong political signals to them. Again, it is water under the bridge. It took a long time to sort that one out, however.

Peculiarly enough, maybe by accident more than design, if we do get a hard Brexit, Northern Ireland is going to find itself in an advantageous position and actually in a better position than the South. It will be the only sterling area in the Single Market. On the other hand, all the widgets produced in Northern Ireland - they might have to go through paperwork - can be sold through the South into the whole of Europe without any customs or tariffs. There would be no paperwork going that way. If they go into the island of Britain, they can also sell in there. It is going to be the only part of the European Union that can sell both to Britain and to the rest of Europe with no tariffs. Of course, we could find, particularly around the Border areas, a migration of companies, setting up in Northern Ireland because of that advantage. This is all the more reason that it is important for this island that we get an agreement.

I have always maintained that fishing would be a contentious issue. Looking at British politics, fishing and the like are symbolic of sovereignty. One other conundrum not debated much is where are the richest waters around the island of Britain. In England, they are off the north-east coast, not off the west coast, with its clear run for 200 miles towards Norway. It is interesting to note that, in the last general election there, the Conservative Party did well in those very north-east constituencies. Not that many of them are fishermen in those areas but it is symbolically important to them.

Much more important, however, is what is north of them. Scotland is surrounded on three sides by water. It extends well out and well north because the Shetlands and the Orkneys are to the north of Scotland while the isles are well west of Scotland. The country has enormous wealth in fisheries. Inevitably, there will be a new independence referendum in Scotland. The last referendum was won by the pro-union side by 5%. If Boris Johnson wanted to maintain this margin, he will want to be able to say to Nicola Sturgeon if she wins independence and goes back into the European Union, she will have to give all the fisheries back again. If, instead, she stays, Boris Johnson can tell her he will defend all the fisheries and hold them for Britain. For that reason, I have always believed Britain will hang tough on the fisheries issue.

No matter what comes out of these negotiations, it could have serious consequences for Irish fisheries. I am never one to look at things as half-empty. I prefer to look at them as half-full. It is time that we said in Europe that the whole fisheries regime stinks. We sold ourselves short on our water and fish resources from the very beginning in Europe. I hate to say it but that was done by a Fianna Fáil Government. We have 14% of the fish but 4% of the quota. We have allowed people near the coast with a six-mile sovereign area that we control. Up to 90% of the fish are caught by the big industrial operators but 80% of the fishermen are in small boats. Accordingly, there is a case to be made at European level that all of the coastal nations would get a much bigger slice of the coastal waters for their coastal fishermen. It should also be the case that the big industrial interests would have to yield to local interests and the benefit of local economies.

There are several weeks still available. An arbitrary deadline should not be set. We should keep talking until we get to a place of agreement. It concerns me that in the final hot hours of these negotiations we will not be at the table. It is hard to expect anybody to represent one's interests as best as one could when the big industrial interests of France and Germany are at stake.

I am a little bit afraid that we might be let down. I have always had that fear. All I could think of when listening to previous speakers is that in this country we have a history of believing that our salvation will come from abroad. Any time someone says we will be saved by Europe, America or somebody else, I always think of the song from way back when that goes:

"Tá na Francaigh ag teacht thar sáile"

Arsa an tSean-bhean bhocht.

Then I think of the people who decided that the destiny of Ireland should be taken into the hands of the people of Ireland. They did not want to avoid being internationalists or playing their part as one of the nations of the world, but they would do so in a sovereign way and make sure they were at the table. I accept that a very small number believes that. I am probably in a minority of one or two, but I have that deep worry and I sincerely hope I am wrong.

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