Dáil debates

Wednesday, 13 December 2017

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions

Brexit Negotiations

10:40 am

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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26. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if the Government has a guarantee that Northern Ireland will stay in the customs union and Single Market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53242/17]

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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I commend the Minister on his appointment as Tánaiste. It is very important we get clarity and certainty for businesses, farmers and citizens across the island of Ireland with respect to what will happen in Brexit negotiations. The only way we can provide certainty to businesses, farmers and others that there will be no hardening of the Border is if the North stays in the customs union and Single Market. My party leader put this question to the Taoiseach last week but did not get a clear response. I am putting the question directly to the Minister today. Is it the position of the Irish Government that come what may, the North and the entire island will stay in the customs union and Single Market? It is a very simple and straightforward question. It is either "Yes" or "No" and I ask the Tánaiste for an answer in the first instance to that question.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Last Friday in the joint report from the negotiators of the European Union and the UK Government, both sides restated their commitment to avoiding a hard border, describing it as an overarching requirement of the negotiations. We have also secured a firm commitment that no physical border infrastructure or related checks and controls will exist and I am therefore satisfied that in all eventualities a hard border will be avoided and there will be no return to the borders of the past.

It has been the Government’s consistent position that the best possible outcome for Northern Ireland and east-west trade would be for the UK to stay in the Single Market and customs union. This is ultimately a decision for the United Kingdom and while we hope they change their approach, the UK’s stated position is that it will leave the Single Market and customs union when leaving the European Union. However, the agreement reached last Friday not only provides a guarantee that there will be no hard border under any circumstances but it also spells out for the first time how this will be achieved. In the event that it is not possible to resolve the border issue as part of a wider EU-UK future relationship agreement, which has always been the Irish Government’s preference, or through specific solutions, paragraph 49 of the report states that "in the absence of agreed solutions, the United Kingdom will maintain full alignment with those rules of the internal market and the customs union which, now or in the future, support North-South co-operation, the all-island economy and the protection of the 1998 agreement."

It has also been agreed that any agreements put in place will be accompanied by effective mechanisms to ensure implementation and oversight. This is an important fail-safe, recognising that to avoid a hard border, no matter how it is achieved, Northern Ireland or the UK as a whole will need to remain fully aligned with those rules of the customs union and the Single Market which underpin North-South co-operation and the all-island economy. There is a great deal of work still to be done on the Irish-specific issues in order to ensure that all of the commitments set out in the joint report are implemented. I am therefore pleased that work on Irish issues will continue to be taken forward in a distinct strand of the negotiations in phase two. This will ensure that they will not be overlooked at any point in the next phase. All of those points were reinforced yesterday when I met Mr. Michel Barnier for over an hour.

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Again, the Minister has not answered the question so I will keep putting it until the Tánaiste or Taoiseach answers it. It is a fundamental matter, central to protecting the interests of the people of Ireland. The Minister spoke of full alignment, which we acknowledge as progress. The qualification that comes with full alignment is that it is only on the basis of alignment with North-South co-operation, the all-island economy and the Good Friday Agreement. These are clearly important. We have tabled parliamentary questions to the Minister on several occasions trying to understand what the "all-island economy" means. Trade is not an area that is mentioned even once. There is mention of education, health, research and innovation standards but there is no mention of trade at all.

We have concerns because this is not a bulletproof guarantee, as the Taoiseach has said. It is simply a political agreement between two governments. Nothing will be agreed until everything is agreed. There is a world of difference-----

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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It is not an agreement between two governments.

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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If the Tánaiste does not understand the difference between full alignment and the North staying in the customs union and Single Market, cracks are beginning to appear. I will ask him again.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I heard the Deputy the first time.

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Is it the position of the Irish Government that the North will stay-----

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I heard him the first time.

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Well he should answer the question he was asked the first time.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Unfortunately, we are now seeing Sinn Féin trying to raise concerns in a way that is irresponsible. Last Friday's agreement was not an agreement between two governments. It was an agreement between the British Government and 27 other governments. It is also patently clear from the guideline document that will be before heads of state towards the end of this week, if they support it, that in order for phase two to progress, the commitments made in phase one must be honoured. Will the Deputy please not raise unnecessary fears, in this House or anywhere else, about very sensitive matters? We have enough challenges in dealing with Brexit and the relationships between Ireland and the United Kingdom, as well as relationships in Northern Ireland between two communities, of course, without the Deputy raising unnecessary fears.

We have stated over and over again that the Irish Government's position is we would like the United Kingdom as a whole to stay in the customs union and Single Market. That would solve many problems. It is a decision for the British Government to decide how they want to approach this. We have agreement between the British Government and the European Union that in the absence of agreement, there is a fail-safe and fall-back position that would ensure full alignment on the island of Ireland with the rules of the customs union and Single Market. It would allow the all-island economy to continue to function as it does today. The Deputy knows what that means.

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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I will not be spooked at all by that response. We have consistently said we will support the Irish Government when it takes the right approach. It is entirely responsible of me to put questions to the Tánaiste. It is entirely responsible of me to tease out what full alignment means-----

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Deal with the facts.

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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-----and the Tánaiste has not done that. I have asked him if it is the position of the Irish Government that the North will stay in the customs union and Single Market. When we look at the detail of what full alignment means in the context of the all-island economy, it is not as clear as we would like. We want the entire island to stay in the customs union and Single Market.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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So do we but we do not control it.

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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I am not being irresponsible; I am being responsible in putting questions to the Tánaiste. I did not use the term "a gentleman's agreement". That was used by people in the European Commission. Until everything is agreed and there is a final agreement, which would be a legal agreement, there will still be hard negotiations to be had and much politics must be done. We have said we will stand shoulder to shoulder with the Irish Government in its approach to getting the best possible deal. Please do not accuse me of being irresponsible for putting genuine questions.

I will ask these simple questions again. What is the difference between full alignment and being in the customs union and Single Market? What would happen with imports and country of origin goods, for example? Why will the Tánaiste not answer the simple questions? Is it the position of the Irish Government that the North will stay in the customs union and Single Market? It is a "Yes" or "No" answer. I have asked the question a third time.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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It is my position that I would like to see the United Kingdom staying in the European Union but it will not happen because it has made a decision to leave. In the context of Britain leaving the European Union, I would like to see a decision made that would allow Britain to stay in the customs union and Single Market but it is ultimately a decision for them. We cannot instruct the British Government, regardless of what Sinn Féin says, to do anything.

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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We were told of a special solution for Ireland.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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This is part of a negotiated solution that protects the island of Ireland.

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Is it a special solution?

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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It protects trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom also, which is good.

Until relatively recently, the Sinn Féin position was that we should demand that Northern Ireland stays in the EU as well.

10:50 am

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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That was how the electorate voted.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Yes, but we have to talk about the reality of where we are. As a result of the good outcome that was negotiated last Friday, we now have a default position which we did not have before. The British Government has agreed that, in the absence of agreed solutions, it will ensure Northern Ireland maintains full alignment with the rules of the Single Market.

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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The Tánaiste has not answered the question about the difference between full alignment and the customs union.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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We do not control what the British Government does. We have a view. My view has always been that Northern Ireland and the UK are much better off in the customs union and the Single Market. We would like that to be the case, but demanding it does not deliver it. The best way to achieve such a result is through negotiating, which is what we have done very well over the past ten days.

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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This has not been negotiated.