Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to take up my time with mentioning this, but giving Opposition parties five minutes to respond undermines the commitments made after the Lisbon treaty to deal with European affairs in a much more structured way. I hope we can revisit that.

Normally we would now be talking about the detail of the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, and the EU's recovery and resilience facility. There is no doubt that we will have opportunities to do that in the future. In normal circumstances we would be talking at some length about the climate action agreements which were hard-won at the European Council. I welcome the new emissions reduction target of 55% and the commitment to a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. The Taoiseach was right in saying that consensus is often arrived at after 23 hours of discussion. However, that consensus often comes at the lowest common denominator. A reasonably ambitious target has been agreed in this instance. We will need to see the detail of how we can play our full part in achieving it.

As I said, these are the things we would normally be talking about but for the unique situation with Brexit. I want to spend my remaining three minutes dealing with that. In passing, I must comment on Deputy McDonald's claim that Sinn Féin's position on the unique situation of Ireland set the tone for everybody. That has been an absolutely unanimous view of all parties in this House from the beginning. I remember going to meetings with leaders of European socialist and social democratic parties to win people over to prioritising that above all else. This has been an achievement across all groupings. We can be very pleased with this.

This morning the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, told the European Parliament that there is now a path to an agreement. We have found a way forward on most issues, but some remain. She particularly instanced fisheries as an unresolved issue. In all the stakeholder forums I have attended from the very beginning of this process it was the settled position that we would not leave fisheries to be the last item. We wanted to address it before the trade talks were concluded. It will be a failure if we allow that to happen, but it looks as though fisheries may be the final unresolved issue. I am not suggesting that the level playing field issues are entirely resolved, but a pathway to resolving those issues seems to have been found. Hopefully they can be worked out.

I am an optimist, and I have repeatedly said that I expect an outcome to be arrived at. Rational decision-making ultimately prevails. Most people who go into negotiations do so on the basis that their interlocutors will ultimately act on the basis of reason and rationality. However, we live in an era when rational decision-making cannot be depended upon. Even now we cannot be certain that the Johnson Government will support any final deal, however damaging and upsetting to the British economy the alternative will be. We must continue to plan.

In that context, I have said for more than two years that our first test on 1 January will concern our ports and our ability to export and import goods. The Taoiseach and the Minister of State will attest to that. I have been extremely critical of what I can only describe as the complacent attitude of the Department of Transport towards this matter. It has not been proactively looking for alternative direct links. These links have not been found because of proactive decision-making on the part of the Government or State agencies. The Irish Maritime Development Office, IMDO, testified before the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs this morning. Rather, it happened because commercial decisions were taken. It is almost in spite of State agencies and the Department that direct linkage will be significantly increased from January. I am not sure it will be enough.

We have seen some of the disruption that may arise. If fisheries is ultimately the sticking point and fishermen are excluded from their traditional fishing grounds, which are now claimed by the United Kingdom, I can see no way that there will not be disruption at French ports. We must be absolutely prepared for that eventuality.

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