Neale Richmond (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A Brexit will be bad for this island, the UK and the EU, regardless of whether there is a soft, hard, medium rare or no-deal Brexit crash out scenario. If I hear the phrase "managed no deal" one more time, I think I will go blue in the face. There is no such thing as a managed no deal. It is an absolute worst case scenario about which everything is being done on both the European and the British side to avoid. I hope that will continue in the fewer than 70 days until Brexit becomes a reality. Ultimately, when it comes to a crash out scenario, those of us on this island can never be fully prepared. It would be unfair to assume that everything can be prepared for because there are so many variables that could come into the conversation at a later date but everything that can be done is being done and, regrettably, it is having to be done at this very late stage.

I speak regularly with colleagues in the UK but also across the EU. There is a maddening frustration among continental colleagues who believe this should have been sorted in July. Unfortunately, it was not and we are in the position now where we are edging ever closer to a crash out scenario, however unlikely we all believe that may be. I commend the Government's work and I take on board some of the comments that have already been made. No doubt there are more such comments to come. We raised concerns about the fact that the action plan was presented on 19 December but we must be fair and recognise that it could not be prepared until the European Commission outlined its plans. That happened on the morning of 19 December last. Where criticism is due, make it but be sure to be clear. People state that not enough work has been done to ensure the statistics are right and there are those who bandy about the number of 1,000 officials hired in the Netherlands. That number is aspirational. They have not all been hired; the process has not been completed. When comparing and contrasting, it should be remembered that the Port of Rotterdam is the gateway to the entire Continent. That is not the case with Rosslare Europort. The comparison is unfair and needless. When we are trying so hard not just to be bipartisan but to be multipartisan - we are all working together on this one - we need to be fair in our criticism as well as our compliments.

In the context of multipartisanship - I am sure that is the wrong word but my English teacher will correct me in due course - I refer to the report prepared by the Seanad Special Select Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union and some of the recommendations that were made all the way back in July 2017. I thought the report would be dated and ancient history by now but much of the work undertaken in its compilation and many of the recommendations it contains refer to a stage we have not yet reached. Many will not arise until the trade negotiations that will commence soon after the UK actually leaves. I refer, for example, to those recommendations relating to the common travel area. I welcome the work that has been done by the Government on that issue in the context of the withdrawal agreement - and also the reference to the bilateral discussions last week - the work that has been done on port infrastructure and discussions with the aviation industry. Much of that was underlined in the European Commission's preparedness, as well as in the context of trade. While the vista of a no-deal scenario is on the horizon and is very worrying despite its unlikeliness, the key issues the Government has pursued are in line with many of the recommendations made in the report by all members of the committee, such as protecting the integrity of the Good Friday Agreement, recognising the rights of citizens across the island, recognising the importance of protecting the European Single Market and ensuring that relationship between the EU and the UK is as close as possible post-Brexit. I will touch on that as I conclude my remarks.

What will Irish-UK relations be post-Brexit? Many people have tried to say that UK-Irish relations are at their lowest ebb. They must have very short memories or not know their Irish history to make comments like that. I know from the work the Tánaiste does with his counterparts, including David Lidington and Karen Bradley - and yesterday with Jeremy Hunt - that the relationships on a personal, political and every other level are warm and strong. Those of us who meet colleagues from Westminster, as the Leas-Chathaoirleach has done via the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, know relationships are still as strong as possible. I will travel to Westminster tomorrow to speak at a conference at which there will be five or six MPs who support either leave or remain and who come from all parties. We will continue to have discussions. When we welcomed our colleagues from the North from all parties - unionists, nationalists, republicans and others - to our special commemoration yesterday, there was a warmness. It is unfair to state that relations have reached to a new low. Far from it. We can see that by looking at the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement. We can map what will be the Anglo-Irish, North-South and east-west relationship after Brexit. The latter will absolutely be a relationship much closer than any other EU member state will have with the UK. That will allow Ireland to play a key role in the trade negotiations to ensure that everyone in the UK knows we absolutely are the UK's best friend within the European Union.

We also have a responsibility to look beyond Brexit to our role within the European Union, which will then be a union of 27 member states. We need to double down our efforts at our missions across the EU whether it is with individual member states or within the permanent representation in Brussels and with our semi-State bodies such as Bord Bia, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. We have to make the financial and emotional investment in our diplomatic team, which has provided us with such great service in the most trying of circumstances in the past five or six years. Within 12 months of the referendum, Irish diplomats, officials and politicians had held over 500 meetings with their counterparts. That has stood the test of time. We see it in the warm relations and in the comments of President Juncker this morning, Michel Barnier yesterday and of the German Federal Foreign Minister. They will stand the test of time beyond Brexit. We cannot let that slip.

I very much welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on this matter at every forum. I welcome the contributions of all Members. I know all Members contribute in a positive manner. That is something we absolutely must maintain. As the Tánaiste stated, now is the time to keep calm and hold our nerve. The Good Friday Agreement will be protected by the Irish and, I hope and assume, British Governments over these testing weeks. We do not need to react to every kite or leak in British newspapers, whatever their hue.