Neale Richmond (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Tánaiste to the House. I join others in welcoming Senator Ian Marshall and I thank him very much for his very considered contribution and the work he was doing outside this House prior to his election. I welcome Senator Anthony Lawlor on his return to the Oireachtas, where he will make so many contributions in his area of expertise, agriculture, and in other areas.There is much that I would like to say but it is hard to sum up all the contributions I would like to make in eight minutes when it comes to Brexit. The first thing I have to say, however, is that Brexit is bad. There is absolutely no such thing as a good Brexit. Regardless of what is decided in October and regardless of what receives the assent of the European Parliament and the European Council and comes into force after the transition period, there is no such thing as a good Brexit. There is no such thing as a good Brexit for Ireland or a good Brexit for the wider European Union and there is certainly no such thing as a good Brexit for the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland. Putting all that aside, I commend the Tánaiste and his vast team in the Department of Foreign Affairs and throughout Government on the stellar work that has been carried out since the fateful decision of the British people to leave the EU to prepare Ireland and to work through the political and diplomatic process.

There are a few people who keep referring to Ireland and Europe and to Ireland and EU and who say that the EU is doing this or that on behalf of Ireland. It is very important that we recognise that, in this matter, we are Europe. Michel Barnier is not there to act as an honest broker, rather he is there to negotiate on behalf of this jurisdiction. Ireland is Europe. Our negotiator is Michel Barnier and the UK's negotiator is David Davis. Going by Mr. Barnier's statements yesterday in Dundalk, he is completely in line with everything the Irish Government has been saying over the past two years. That is no small achievement. If one looks at the 680 meetings which have been held at diplomatic and political level since 2016 between the Irish Government and all its counterparts in the remaining member states as well as officials of the EU institutions, it is a credit to the effort. The fact that Ireland has maintained itself as one of the top three priority issues for negotiation is quite remarkable. The internal preparedness which the Tánaiste has laid down is significant. It is very important that when we look at those preparations we look at what is happening now and at what will happen in due course. It was the iar-Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, who proposed the transition period to give business and society those 16 months until December 2020 and the end of the multi-annual framework to adjust and prepare for the finality of Brexit when we know what that will look like.

All that said, I am very worried about the tendency to knock everything. I expect that from the arch-Brexiteers in the UK who are living in an absolute fantasy land and who believe that the empire will rule supreme, that they can just leave, that they can punish little old Ireland ,and that Europeans and their German car companies will be queueing up to beg them to stay. I expect that from them and I expect it from the hard-line unionists, including those who resort to racist slurs as we saw yesterday, and those who are actually delighted by the prospect of a hard border and direct rule from Westminster, where they have a strong influence. I expect that, but I am starting to get very worried about some of the domestic knockers who now see Brexit as an opportunity to attack the Government and score petty political points. We have seen that over recent months.

We have seen certain people, including Border representatives, from certain parties call for that hard border and say that we need those checks for migration from the North. We have seen certain party leaders say that it is time we started negotiating directly with London. That is one of the most idiotic suggestions I have heard. Why would we give up the negotiating stance we gain from being part of the world's largest economic trading bloc comprising 480 million people in favour of a direct Dublin-London negotiation? Going down that route makes absolutely no sense in the short term and in the long term it would absolutely erode the serious solidarity which this Irish Government has built up in European circles. It makes no sense. We look at what has been done and what has been achieved domestically. It is very important to say what is being achieved here and now rather than resorting to reports in November, which are quite simply ancient history when it comes to the Brexit negotiations.

I know there are other comments which will come through. Some have said that we need to use this as the catalyst or opportunity to go for a united Ireland. The constitutional issue on this island has been agreed for the next generation and any premature move towards a Border poll or towards a united Ireland forced without consent would be a very dangerous path down to take. We have to be wary of our constraints and our responsibilities within the European Union when we talk about things like special status for regions and islands. Let us be aware of what we are; .we are part of the European Union, the most successful peace project in the history of mankind and something that has been wholly positive for Ireland in our short history since accession. We joined the EEC in 1977 wholly reliant on the United Kingdom, which accounted for 60% of our external exports. We stand here now faced with a very difficult decision, but the percentage of our external exports which go to the United Kingdom is down to 12% to 13%. That is an achievement of our membership of that European project. We are staying within that European project. It is the right decision, it is a forceful decision and it is about time some people realised that if one tries to play petty politics with Brexit, all one is doing is damaging the Ireland's case, the European Union's case and the people they represent in this House.