Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Senator Ó Donnghaile that these Houses, and in this House in particular, need to engage in an intelligent and reasonable debate about future relations between the two parts of this island. The debate on whether there should be a Border poll is somewhat premature and would be far better replaced by a debate on whether there are intermediate steps towards co-operation between the two parts of this island that would attract support from both sides of the community in Northern Ireland and from the people in this part of the world. The idea that there is going to be a 51% to 49% plebiscite some day soon to unite the country without actually knowing what would be involved is somewhat misconceived. If we are going to make progress on reconciling the two communities in Northern Ireland, and on providing a framework for the two parts of Ireland to work together, perhaps in the context of the European Union, it has always struck me that sharing membership of the European Union between the two parts of this island is something which should be examined, rather than simply expecting that a unitary state in the form of a republic would precede such shared membership.

In that context, and on a serious note, according to the newspapers and media reports, the Cabinet is engaging in considering the serious potential implications of a disorderly British exit from the European union. The political process in the United Kingdom, particularly at Westminster, does not seem to be taking account at all of the possible implications for Ireland of the competing, aggressive approaches being offered to the membership of the Tory Party by those aspiring to be its leader. The only mention of Ireland I hear in the British media, in particular in political interviews, is that the United Kingdom can use the adverse effects on both the Republic and Northern Ireland as some kind of leverage to extract concessions from the European Union. That is a deeply reprehensible and irresponsible attitude on the part of those protagonists and their supporters.

As we approach the end of this term, we might consider establishing a committee on future relations in Ireland in the autumn in order that we could engage in serious discussion and dialogue with people north of the Border in particular, from both communities, with a view to advancing realistic and achievable steps towards giving Ireland what it needs, which is, if at all possible, the idea that both parts of Ireland would share the benefits of European Union membership.