Neale Richmond (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join colleagues in welcoming the Minister and thank him for his remarks. Most importantly, I thank him and his colleagues in government for their ongoing engagement with the House on this most grave issue. It is refreshing to have such regular interaction with Ministers. It is to the credit not only of the Minister but also of the Government in how it is handling the crisis and it is absolutely a crisis in the gravest sense and we are starting to see the fallout. The champions of Brexit in the United Kingdom, with the usual suspects here who include David McWilliams and Vincent Browne, tried to convince us that the consequences would not really be that bad, but clearly they did not know. As sterling hits a 30 year low, we are starting to see the real impact on this small country and more widely throughout Europe of what was absolutely one of the worst decisions ever taken in the history of democracy, definitely in the United Kingdom. It is vital that the Government make every effort to insulate Ireland from the backlash and the fallout of Brexit.

I commend the Government for its efforts and thank it for the very detailed document sent to us yesterday on the plan being put in place. A plan is also being put in place at European level by the three negotiators from the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament. We have yet to see a clear plan from the UK Government, although the Prime Minister, Mrs. May, has started to give us an insight into it, but it was not exactly an uplifting remark.Like Senator Ó Ríordáin I too am slightly depressed whenever I come to talk about Brexit, but I believe the Government can act in a number of areas now to insulate Ireland from the fallout both in terms of the economy and diplomacy. In his reply will the Minister respond on whether there is scope to expand the role of the British-Irish Council? The Minister referred clearly to the North-South dimension. The British-Irish Council meets twice a year. Prior to the accession of Ireland and the United Kingdom to the then EEC in 1973, our diplomats at best met once or twice a year and our relationship with the United Kingdom was as cold as it has ever been in the history of the State. When we fastfoward the 40 odd years, now it is probably the warmest relationship we have with any other nation on the earth. Back in the 1970s and 1980 the relations between our two countries was far removed from the present normal relationship. It is vital that if we are moving in a structure that is outside the EU, that we look to restore that diplomatic relationship with the UK, solidify it within the British-Irish Council. Perhaps the council could meet monthly. It does not have to be a collection of all Ministers, it could be sectoral, shadowing the European Council. At present Irish Ministers can meet their UK counterparts as part of a European Council or summit meeting but also bilaterally on the margins or as they see fit. That is an idea that could be taken forward now without having to wait until Article 50 is invoked or the negotiation process begins. In the financial area, there is the idea of attracting financial services, the so-called exiles from London bringing the European Medicines Agency, a topic I raised on the Commencement Matters today.

Brexit poses a significant challenge to the political leaders of Europe. It is time for the political leaders of Ireland and EU member states to take responsibility and if we truly believe in the European Union, we must on a daily basis get out and promote it. Senator Leyden made it clear in his contribution that conducting negotiations in smoke filled rooms is no longer acceptable. We have seen that with the debates on TTIP and CETA, matters we will deal with this afternoon, which have been completely kiboshed by the confusion, concern and fear that is generated by the fact that it is not an open process. We need to grasp that and bring it out into the open and get out front and centre to promote and sell the deals the European Union is negotiating. We cannot assume that people will go along with it for evermore.