David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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28. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the veto Ireland has over the Brexit negotiations; his plans to use it if there is no legal agreement on the working of the backstop arrangement in time for the EU June 2018 summit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27818/18]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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My question is in respect of the current negotiations between Britain and the European Union in advance of the June summit and, specifically, the issues relating to the Irish backstop. If there is no agreement or progress on those issues, what veto does the Irish Government have in that regard? What are its plans to use any veto it might have to ensure we do not end up going into October with the Irish issues bungled into all the other wider issues of trade talks between Britain and Europe?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy knows, we had hoped to make substantial progress on the Irish backstop issues in June before the summit this week. I think everybody accepted that everything would not conclude in June but we certainly expected to make a significant step forward in helping to ensure that backstop was taking shape and that we could have confidence that we would be able to finalise that arrangement over the summer. That has not happened. If we look at the draft conclusions that are being put to the European Council, they are very strong. They state that the European Council expresses its concern that no substantial progress has yet been achieved on agreeing a backstop solution for Ireland-Northern Ireland. It recalls commitments undertaken by the United Kingdom in this respect in December 2017 and March 2018 and insists on the need for intensified efforts in order that the withdrawal agreement, including its provisions on transition, can be concluded as soon as possible in order to come into effect on the date of withdrawal. I am afraid that because the British Government has not been able to bring forward proposals to fulfil the commitments it made in these negotiations in March and in December, there is an acceptance that we have not managed to make the kind of progress everybody wanted to make in June.

I do not believe threatening to stall the process will help in this regard. As we will not find solutions if people are not sitting around a table, we are encouraging the British Government to intensify its efforts to bring some certainty and clarity as to what it is looking for and is willing to put forward as solutions that can deliver on the commitments they have made in writing. I will be encouraging that in London next week. I understand there will be a meeting in Chequers on 6 July when the Prime Minister will bring her Cabinet together to focus on Brexit again. It is hoped a White Paper will be published in or around that time as well. I hope we will see a real intensification of negotiations post 6 July to allow us get on with providing certainty for businesses, people, the communities living in the Border areas and so on in order that the backstop can start to take shape and we can get confidence into the negotiation that we can get this concluded by the end of October.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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With respect, it is not about making threats. It is about making sure we get agreement on issues on which we were told we had agreement. I have said consistently that my quarrel is not necessarily with the Tánaiste and the Irish Government but the benchmark that was set by all political parties in the political system here, which were supportive of the Irish approach to the negotiations and the European Union's approach, was that we would avoid ending up going into October with the Irish issues unresolved and no real or substantial progress other than fine words from the British Prime Minister in terms of high-level principles but with no detail worked out. We were told that would not happen. We were told we would not move on from phase 1 until the Irish issues were resolved. We did, and we had an agreement in December which we were told was cast iron. We were told by the Tánaiste that we would have real and substantial progress by June. We have not had it. The Tánaiste will understand that we have a job to hold him, and the Government, to account.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Yes.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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We are exerting pressure on the Government so that this can, in turn, be exerted on the British Government and the EU. When the EU says that Ireland should come first, that must also mean that it should come first now. It is one thing for the EU to insist that progress be made, but progress must also be forced. Like many, I am concerned that we are heading towards October with all of the Irish issues in the larger melting pot of trade talks, which is not what we were told would be the case.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The reality is that it takes two to tango. The EU is ready to negotiate and discuss sensible and pragmatic ways of delivering on the commitments that the British Government made in December and March.

I appreciate the support that we have received from Opposition parties - Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil and others - in respect of our efforts to ensure that there is a unified message coming from Ireland and this House. That has not only helped us, it has also assisted Mr. Michel Barnier and his team to provide clarity about what Ireland is seeking. I hope that we can sustain that.

I have no problem with the Opposition asking me the hard questions and holding me to account. It has been disappointing and very frustrating that we have not seen the kind of leap forward that many, including in the British political system, hoped would happen in June. That is why we now need to intensify our efforts if we are to ensure that a no-deal Brexit scenario remains, if not very unlikely, then remote. I am of the view that it is unlikely. As Mr. Barnier, President Tusk and President Juncker have done, let me make it clear that there will be no withdrawal treaty if there is no legally operable Irish backstop in place unless and until something better is negotiated. We have to deliver on that commitment over the summer.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Tánaiste will have a further opportunity to respond.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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The problem is that the British Government has effectively taken the backstop off the table. If we are to read into what it-----

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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It has not, actually.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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It has. I read what it published a number of weeks ago. Effectively, it changed December's agreement, which was a solution for the North involving an alignment with the rules of the customs union and an extension of the implementation period. That backstop was meant to be an insurance policy in the event of there being no deal.

I am concerned that, although there may be a deal, it might not be a good one, that is, an agreement on the entire UK being a part of some sort of customs partnership without the North being fully in the customs union or aligned with the rules of the Single Market. If there is divergence in any area, it will mean a hardening of the Border and checks and inspections at some level, particularly in view of the fact that the rules of the customs union and Single Market will have to be enforced. That is the space we are in.

We had a backstop that we hoped would be at least a bottom line for Ireland. While the Tánaiste says that it has not been taken off the table, it certainly has not been placed on the table in the form of a legal text that would give effect to the December agreement. The British Government is resiling from the agreement.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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It is true to say that the British Government has not come forward with proposals that follow through on the commitments it has made yet, but that is not to say that the backstop is off the table. The Deputy needs to make a distinction between what was agreed and signed off on by both negotiating teams in December and March and papers that have been proposed - but certainly not agreed - by both sides. The British Government, for example, put one forward on 7 June, which I accepted was a step forward but as inadequate to deal comprehensively with the backstop.

It is important to quote the British Prime Minister from her last major speech in the Mansion House:

We have ruled out any physical infrastructure at the border, or any related checks and controls. But it is not good enough to say, "We won't introduce a hard border; if the EU forces Ireland to do it, that's down to them". We chose to leave; we have a responsibility to help find a solution.

As far as I am concerned, we take our lead from the British Prime Minister in her public speeches and in her written commitment to EU institutions and Ireland. That commitment is clear. It is a commitment to having a legally operable backstop which deals comprehensively with the Irish Border issues in a way that is consistent with the December agreement, and to placing that backstop in the withdrawal treaty unless and until something else or something better is negotiated, which I hope will be the case, in the context of the future relationship discussions. That is where we need to focus over the summer months. I believe we can get there.