Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to the House, and thank him for coming to brief the Seanad on the present situation, in particular the ever-moving position of the British Government. I remind the Minister that last December he said that the backstop was cast-iron and bullet proof. Things do not seem to be quite as bullet-proof as they were last December. I appreciate that the British Government is moving its position so regularly that it is very hard to keep in touch with what is happening. In his speech he spoke about the invisible border which was made possible in part due to the UK and Ireland's membership of the Single Market customs union. This is of critical importance to more than 7,000 businesses that trade across the Border, from North to South, supporting 160,000 jobs. That is a remarkable figure; we should keep it in mind.

We must have a frictionless border between the North and South, but also between Ireland and the United Kingdom. It is absolutely vital that we have direct access to mainland Europe through Britain, and that the access to the channel tunnel would be maintained in the post-Brexit era, beginning at the end of March 2019. It is very important that planning is being done in that area and that negotiations are continuing in that regard. It is also important that the technology required is developed. I recently spoke at the National College of Ireland in Dublin, and the excellent students there brought a project to Leinster House recently which looked at how a solution could be devised using the most modern technology possible, allowing for the free movement of particular goods from Ireland, through Northern Ireland and Britain to the European mainland. Our ports will be used to that end as well. There is much work to be done in that regard.

This is a particularly worrying time. The statements today by the British Government have caused confusion. The Tánaiste has been in touch with his counterparts in Britain about those comments and I know he has been in touch with Michel Barnier as well. It is vital that the negotiations continue. We have the good will of the other 26 countries, but no other country within the EU will be more affected than Ireland. As a member of the Conference for Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs, COSAC - and I know that the Acting Chairman, Senator Craughwell, attends meetings of that body - I am aware that there is not as much interest in Brexit in some European countries as one might think. Those countries have their own worries.

We must bear in mind that in the negotiations it has been agreed that the free movement of people within the UK and Ireland will be maintained. It is a sacred agreement that was negotiated, and was there before we got our freedom and formed a Government. There is a particularly strong relationship between the two countries. It is also the case that under the Good Friday Agreement, every citizen of Northern Ireland is entitled to a dual passport. It is a very important issue. Everyone in the North has the right to apply for and get an Irish passport, which is also a European passport. It is a very significant agreement that has already been reached between the United Kingdom and Ireland, through the European Union and bilaterally. It acknowledges the conditions that existed prior to the establishment of the Republic in the 1940s.

It should also be borne in mind that in 1965 iar-Thaoiseach, Seán Lemass, and Mr. Harold Wilson, then Prime Minister of Britain, negotiated the trade agreement between the United Kingdom and Ireland in advance of EU membership in 1973. Our positions have been extremely close over that period of time. No border can be enforced and it will not be enforced. It cannot be enforced by the Irish Government or the EU, and will not be enforced by the British Government, because no customs post will survive there. We should be blunt and say that they will not last for ten hours if re-erected along the Border. The British Government must be aware of this.

The consequences of a hard border are serious given what has been achieved under the Good Friday Agreement, which brought peace to this country and has benefitted every part of Ireland. Over the last 20 years every part of Ireland, North and South, is benefitting from the relationships we have developed in areas such as tourism, trade, education and health. We are integrated together and rightly so. Anything that would put that in jeopardy would be absolutely diabolical and cannot possibly be contemplated. I am confident that the British Government knows there must be an agreement. There will be an agreement because it is not in the interests of the Government of the United Kingdom or any part of the EU not to reach a good, comprehensive agreement.

As far as the Single European Act 1992 is concerned, I was the delegated Minister of State in the 1990s and happened to be there. Mr. John Redwood, who is now a Brexiteer, was a conscientious member of the negotiating team on behalf of the British Government and co-operated fully with the decisions made at that time. I can categorically say that the British Government was never voted down in any of those negotiations and neither was Ireland. We received tremendous co-operation from the British Government during those negotiations. I lament the loss of the United Kingdom from the European Union. It is a major loss from our point of view. We were Britain's friend and Britain was our friend. Some people here know that. Senator McDowell and the Tánaiste, and anyone else who has served in government, knows the type of constant contact we had which led to the Single European Act, which in turn lead to advanced trading between our two countries.

The Tánaiste has the full support of this House and of the Opposition. The leader of Fianna Fáil, who has been talking to his counterparts in Europe, is also fully supportive of the negotiations. The Tánaiste and the Taoiseach are there to lead the negotiations in conjunction with Michel Barnier and the other 26 countries in the EU to bring about a just and long-term solution to this particular issue. I am hopeful and confident. The Tánaiste should hold his nerve and not yield to any pressure from the British Government.We have to hold firm but we have the backing of the other 26 member states to get the best possible deal.