Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of our Seanad team, I echo the words of sympathy to the Mallon clan on the loss of Gertrude. Go ndéana Dia a mhaith uirthi.

Ahead of tomorrow's debate on the recognition of Irish Sign Language, will the Leader ensure we have an interpreter in the Chamber to facilitate sign on behalf of those groups and organisations which will be represented here?

We heard from previous speakers about the imminent, live and tangible negative impacts Brexit is having on the mushroom industry. Pivotal as it is, that industry is not alone in feeling the sharp end of this decision by England to trail the rest of us out of the EU against our will. It is a matter I have consistently raised, along with many other Members from a broad range of political opinion, on the floor of this Chamber. As outlined eloquently and passionately by the previous speaker on this issue, we are continually being told by the Government that it is working through it, that there is something down the line, that it will come back to it, that it is investigating it and that it is working with ministerial colleagues in London.

At this stage, the long and short of it is that is not good enough. It is not having any impact. The first interest for the Seanad and the Government has to be the welfare of Ireland and the Irish people. The reality is that the Irish people, in every corner of this country, not least along the Border communities, are feeling the negative impacts of Brexit now, as they have been for the past month. They will continue to feel it and will probably feel it much worse and sharper in the coming months and years. It was unbelievable that yesterday, in the Stormont Assembly in the North, a motion seeking to assert the Assembly's wish to have special EU status granted to the North was actually lost as a result of two MLAs who aligned themselves with Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson and the boys. The two Brexiteer MLAs, who allegedly represent People Before Profit but it would seem are more Brexit before people in this case, allowed this motion to be lost. While some Members may laugh, it is a serious matter as people are feeling it. They are angry and disappointed that two MLAs, who profess themselves to be champions of the people, would allow the subversion of the democratic wishes of the people in the North to be dismissed in such a fashion.

The message needs to go very clearly from here that, regardless, this Chamber stands for the well-being of Ireland, the democratic wishes of the people in the North and the retention of all of Ireland within the EU.