Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ní raibh mé ag dúil leis sin ach táim buíoch as. It has been a frantic few days, as we can appreciate, regarding the negotiations on Great Britain's withdrawal from the EU. At the beginning of the deal and arrangement between the DUP and the Tories, many of us predicted that it would end in tears. In particular, some of the people who took great delight in telling Sinn Féin how they had to rush back into government with the DUP in Northern Ireland are starting to see the flavour and calibre of the politics one deals with when one has to deal with the DUP.The late Martin McGuinness showed exemplary political patience and leadership in lasting the ten years he did that, but sin scéal eile.

The purpose of my contribution is to ask for updates or statements from the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade on the current Brexit negotiations. I appreciate that negotiations are at a sensitive stage and neither I nor my party or any Member in this House would seek to compromise the Minister or the Government, but it is timely that we have statements from the Minister on the latest developments. He did that when the negotiations were taking place in the North and we all respected and adhered to the guidance he advised in terms of the sensitivities of those negotiations. It has been a considerable time since we had a proper update from the Government on Brexit in the House and the past 48 hours in particular warrant that.

As is my duty, I call on the Government to remain steadfast, as it has, regarding the defence of the Good Friday Agreement. It is mandated by the Dáil to negotiate for a special status for the North. As we all know and appreciate, and I say this not in a combative way, the North is not as British as Finchley. The Good Friday Agreement ensures that. Regardless of the internal dynamics playing out among the Tories and between the DUP and the various parts of Britain, what must be put front and centre is the defence of the Good Friday Agreement and the retention of Ireland in its entirety within the customs union, the Single Market.

Two weeks ago, I raised the issue of the bitter impact the unresolved issues of legacy are having on politics in the North. If the North is taken out of the European Union against our will, we will be left to the devices of the so-called British justice system. We will no longer have access to the European Court of Justice. In addition to all the political, economic and social ramifications we know about, that presents a dangerous potential for those of us in the North.