Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Ó Donnghaile for raising the matter of protecting services for Irish citizens in Northern Ireland post-Brexit. As the Senator pointed out, we are at a critical phase of the Article 50 negotiations. As President Tusk stated in Salzburg in September, we must seek to maximise progress and results in these negotiations in the coming weeks so that we can finalise and formalise a deal in November. Our preference remains for an overall EU-UK relationship which would resolve all issues, but it remains essential that a backstop is agreed which provides the certainty that there will be no hard border in any circumstance. We need that certainty now because uncertainty is already causing grave concern among communities North and South.

At paragraph 52 of the joint report of December, the European Commission and the UK acknowledged that the Good Friday Agreement recognises the birthright of all the people of Northern Ireland to choose to be Irish or British or both and to be accepted as such. The joint report also confirms that the people of Northern Ireland who are Irish citizens will continue to enjoy rights as EU citizens, including where they reside in Northern Ireland. Both parties agreed that the withdrawal agreement should respect and be without prejudice to the rights, opportunities and identity that come with European Union citizenship for such people. It was further agreed that the next phase of negotiations would examine the arrangements required to give effect to the ongoing exercise of and access to their EU rights, opportunities and benefits. This position is recognised in the draft protocol. As the UK leaves the European Union, there is an onus on its government to ensure that it provides as necessary for the recognition in the joint report that the people of Northern Ireland who choose to identify as Irish, and therefore as citizens of the EU, will continue to enjoy the rights, opportunities and benefits of EU citizenship, including where they reside in Northern Ireland.

In the context of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, the Government is committed to ensuring that the common travel area, or CTA, and the associated rights and entitlements of Irish and British citizens under this long-standing reciprocal arrangement, which dates back to the 1920s, will continue. This is also recognised in the text of the withdrawal agreement. The CTA allows Irish and British citizens to move and reside freely in either jurisdiction and enables access to a range of similar associated rights in the other country. Under the CTA, Irish citizens in the UK and British citizens in Ireland have the right to reside, work, study and access healthcare, social security and public services in the other country as well as to vote in certain elections.

Since the UK referendum decision to leave the EU, we have seen a 20% rise in passport applications from Irish citizens resident in Northern Ireland. Since 2016, a significant programme of reform to enhance passport services for citizens has been under way, including the introduction of online passport services. The distribution of tasks across the passport service has also been refined and improved. Currently, the Passport Office in Cork processes applications from Northern Ireland. An anticipated 230 temporary clerical officers will be recruited in 2019, over 40 of whom will be assigned to the Cork office in addition to 11 permanent officers.In summary, the Government is acutely conscious of the potential impact on Northern Ireland of the UK decision to leave the European Union. We are determined to ensure that the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts and the gains and benefits of the peace process are protected for people on the island of Ireland, North and South, as the UK leaves the EU.