Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach agus ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil agus fáilte a chur roimh an Aire Stáit as a bheith linn inniu don phlé thar a bheith tábhachtach seo. Is bomaite, is tréimhse agus is am iontach suntasach seo don tír ina iomlán agus go háirithe don mhuintir fud fad na hÉireann agus níos faide ar shiúl ná sin.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House for this important discussion. I and my colleagues reiterate our thanks to her for the work that she, the Tánaiste and departmental officials have put in on this issue. Since entering this House, I have found it an enlightening experience to work collaboratively with other parties on the issue of Brexit, which is an outcome that none of us wants. There has been, by and large, an overwhelming spirit of unity in trying to do what is best for all of our people, even if views have diverged at times on how best to do that and what the approach should be. That has certainly been my experience on the special Seanad committee on Brexit.That has been my experience in this Chamber throughout hours of debate on this issue. In that regard, it is sad that some people have taken party-political swipes at others, especially because we have avoided that up to now. It is a pity that we heard such a contribution at the beginning of this debate. I want to respond - not in a defensive way, but because it is important to get certain points on the record - to a number of points raised by Senator Ned O'Sullivan in his contribution.

Abstaining from Westminster is not sectarian. It is a core tenet of Irish republicanism. As we know, republicanism is the antithesis of sectarianism. In the latest Westminster vote in the North, which happened following the Brexit referendum, Sinn Féin received the largest mandate it has received in such an election since the partition of Ireland. People are very clear about what they expect and what they want their political leadership to do. The people in the North who vote for Sinn Féin are probably increasing in number now, not least within the business class. They do not see Westminster as the solution, but as very much part of the problem. They want the Government of Ireland, and parties and parliaments at a European level, to stand in defence of their rights and their aspirations for the future.

We all want the institutions in the North back up and running. We all know the reasons they are down. I do not need to get into a prolonged contribution on those reasons. The Minister of State and others present will be aware that when the Executive was functioning, the Executive parties did not have a seat at Theresa May's Brexit negotiating table. It can be assumed that if the Executive were back up and running, the two parties at the head of that Executive would have polar-opposite views on Brexit and the welfare of our people. That is manifesting itself even outside the institutions. The DUP has put itself in direct opposition to a raft of our society within community and civic life, political life and business life. If we see the return of the institutions as some kind of panacea or silver bullet for the resolution of Brexit, or if we believe the seven Sinn Féin MPs will somehow be able to go into Westminster on a white horse to save the day, unfortunately we are living in cloud-cuckoo land because that is simply not the case.

We have all conceded that the draft agreement is the absolute bare minimum needed to protect people, not least in the North. We have worked constructively with the Government through the stakeholder forum and on any number of committees. Sinn Féin has been clear that a special or unique arrangement is needed for the North to ensure all parts of the Good Friday Agreement are protected, there is no hardening of the Border on the island of Ireland and the rights of Irish and EU citizens are fully protected. We have argued that there is a need for frictionless movement of goods from Ireland through Britain on their way to the rest of the EU. Although we believe there are some outstanding issues, we consider that the draft agreement provides some assurance for the citizens of the North as well as the business community.

I want to turn to the immediate issues raised by the draft protocol. It is of deep concern that it contains no explicit reference to the European Court of Human Rights, ECHR. It is also of concern that the right of Irish and EU citizens in the North to vote in EU elections is not dealt with in it. I call on the Minister of State and on colleagues to continue to work collaboratively to ensure people who reside in the North will have permanent access to the ECHR and the European Court of Justice, ECJ. People in the North should continue to access third-level education and the EU health insurance card as EU citizens. As we have said, there must be no hardening of the Border. People in the North must continue to be able to access cross-Border healthcare, such as the north-west cancer centre in Altnagelvin. I include children's healthcare in this. There need to be safeguards for EEA migrant workers in the North.

We need to work together towards a reformed and more democratic EU. We need to work to ensure the rights of all citizens in the North are protected and vindicated in line with the joint report of December 2017 between Britain and the EU. I believe today's political declaration does not go far enough, particularly on rights. There is little mention of rights in the declaration and where they are mentioned, it is aspirational rather than practical. We need to be careful in that regard. We need to keep an eye on the British Government's aspirations. It has shown previously - we have experience of this in the North - how it can act when it comes to the implementation of agreements. It is a matter of concern that much of the declaration is aspirational by design. It involves provisions being agreed in principle rather than being legally binding.

I do not want to bring about a divergence of opinion in this House. We have worked positively. I have touched on many of the issues I wanted to cover. The declaration opens the door to future participation in EU programmes, such as Erasmus. It mentions a financial contribution to facilitate such participation. Perhaps that is something the Government could contribute to or assist with, in line with its pledge that people will not be left behind. There is also an agreement in the protocol to deliver a future PEACE+ funding programme. The Government has to ensure that is delivered, not least as part of its responsibilities as co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement.

I continue to wish the Minister of State and her colleagues well. This is a big weekend for Ireland. We are in a big period. As I said when the Tánaiste was here last week, we have now reached the stage where I am speaking less as a Seanadóir and more as a citizen. We are all living Brexit, some of us more acutely and sharply than others. We all remember that when Guy Verhofstadt addressed the joint sitting, he told us there was no way that our rights as Irish citizens, and therefore as EU citizens, would be diminished or reduced in any fashion. That is how we have approached this issue in this House and the other House. That is how we need to continue to approach it in the coming weeks and months.