Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the Deputies for raising these matters. Deputy Richmond raised issues around the protocol and Brexit. All efforts are continuing to be made in terms of preparation. To be fair to the Government, and the previous Government, Ireland has prepared well for Brexit compared to what is happening in the UK. That seems to be evident in the challenges many SMEs have had in the UK in respect of form-filling and all the bureaucratic challenges and barriers that have come up because of Brexit. The Deputy is right about future dates and deadlines and that work continues with all sectors. I was in Rosslare recently to see the preparations and work that have been under way there.

On the matter of Article 16, I understand what Deputy Richmond is saying about the domestic British political situation. In all our exchanges, particularly at the meeting of the British-Irish Council we had with the Secretary of State, Michael Gove, and others, there was a clear sense, to be fair, that they were not going to be motivated by domestic political considerations. There was a sense that they wanted to bring this to a resolution and that they wanted, preferably, to do it in the context of a negotiated solution between the European Union and the United Kingdom. Those expressions of opinion and points were put well and cogently by Michael Gove and subsequently by the British Prime Minister in a telephone conversation I had with him. That is the preferred route of travel and everybody wants to pursue it in that manner.

On the points raised by Deputies Kelly and Brendan Smith, at the British-Irish Council the Scottish and Welsh First Ministers were at pains to point out the challenges Brexit has posed for them. That was particularly the case with the Welsh First Minister due to the reduction of trade in the ports and the potential impact on their respective economies.

Regarding the points Deputies Christopher O'Sullivan and Kelly made on the Brexit adjustment reserve fund, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has included that in the national development plan and will be allocating it specifically to certain areas for prioritisation. The key one will be fishing - we are very conscious of that - but also included are rural communities, the food industry, agriculture and other sectors that will be most impacted as a result of Brexit and the costs and measures we have had to introduce to deal with Brexit. It is very welcome funding of more than €1 billion that we have secured. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform will be providing greater detail in respect of that in due course.

Deputy Brendan Smith is absolutely correct; that is our sense as well. Industry and businesses in the North believe the protocol is working for them. What is interesting is that, if someone is a farmer in Northern Ireland or involved in the dairy industry, the seamless flow North and South is absolutely indispensable to his or her business. Likewise, access to the Single Market for Northern businesses is important, gives an advantage and helps them to export more and, potentially, attract foreign direct investment into the North. That is important, as is access to Great Britain's market, of course, which is the biggest market for Northern Ireland. That is the ideal landing zone for the protocol, but we must do it in a way that, as the Deputy said, minimises the checks in respect of small to medium-sized business.

Real progress has been made in respect of medicines. I would argue that we are close to a position on medicines that should meet the concerns that the British Government and people in Northern Ireland have in respect of access to the latest medicines and those authorised by the British regulatory authorities. The devil is always in the detail and there is some remaining work to be done on that. The same applies to customs and sanitary and phytosanitary, SPS, checks. The initial assessment from the Commission was that the proposals put forward by Commissioner Maroš Šefcovic would reduce SPS checks by about 80%. The work is ongoing between Commissioner Šefcovic and Lord Frost. We hope they can reach a proper, sensible agreement that will be to the benefit of everyone. As I said yesterday, all the participants at the British-Irish Council were very clear and articulated to the British Government that we did not want any more disruption between the EU and the UK.

Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan raised the issue of fishing specifically, including in terms of the Brexit fund. A proportion of that fund will be available to fishers. In terms of burden sharing, I recently wrote to the President of the European Commission in that respect pointing out the fact that we had too high a burden resulting from the Brexit deal. There is a long road to go. I spoke to the Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries when he came here with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue. There are 27 member states and achieving agreement on these issues is very challenging and difficult, but I know that the Minister will do everything he can to get the best deal he possibly can in this annual round. The fishing review is next year. We have fed our reviews into that and will continue to do so.

Deputy Boyd Barrett raised the issue of giving people other options. I am concerned about those who cannot have a vaccine because of medical reasons, including adverse reactions. We have followed the voluntary approach here. I am not responsible for writing headlines, but when we raise issues around what is happening in ICUs, that is not done by way of threat or trying to pressurise people. It is just stating the facts as we get them in terms of the impact of the disease and whether people are vaccinated.

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