Neale Richmond (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to welcome the Tánaiste to the Chamber once again. I am very grateful to him, his officials and the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, for their continuous engagement with this House on what is easily the biggest issue to face our generation in politics. I speak on behalf of our usual spokesperson, Senator O'Reilly, who is attending an engagement at the Council of Europe on this subject with President Macron.

I commend the Tánaiste and the whole Government, including officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of the Taoiseach and elsewhere, for their steadfast work in the last three and a half to four years on the preparation and acknowledgement and expectation for the very serious challenges that this fateful decision of a minority of people, a small majority of people in the United Kingdom, have taken. I also give credit to members of Opposition parties and Independents who have shown consistency and clarity in these very testing times. Senator O'Sullivan referred to the shenanigans in Westminster but perhaps, to paraphrase a word, it is an omnishenanigans by now. It may make for fascinating viewing but it is utterly depressing and worrying.

More than worrying about the non-papers discussed last night by Tony Connolly from RTÉ and Peter Foster in The Telegraph is the Prime Minister's subsequent comments this morning on BBC Radio 4 and this afternoon on television where he proposed the idea of increased customs infrastructure and much else. These comments and suggestions run absolutely contrary to the joint political declaration of 2017 which was agreed in good faith by the European Commission and the British Government. It underlines why the backstop and withdrawal agreement as is are so vitally important to all of us on this island who share those common interests and goals. We have absolute solidarity from the 26 other member states across the EU in that regard. It was heartening to see so many other politicians and political leaders, including from Germany, France and Bulgaria, express their continuing belief that the backstop is so vitally important to any withdrawal agreement.

However, as the Tánaiste rightly said, while we are prepared to listen to any proposals, the British Government must be clear about its intentions and be clear about its ability to protect the integrity of the Good Friday Agreement as well as allow us to protect the integrity of the vital European Single Market. It was very interesting to hear the Tánaiste refer to the 97% of business activity that has engaged with taking up the EORI numbers, a statistic which is a credit to the recent weeks and months of work by Revenue and Government officials who increased that figure from 48% at the start of the summer. That is exceptionally important and goes to the heart of the matter of how serious this issue is being taken by every individual across the country. On Friday I spoke with my local chamber of commerce on what might happen and the preparations it has taken. Among those present were the CEOs of large multinationals operating across the world as well as those of SMEs and micro enterprises of two or three employees, which might combine the role of managing director with those of head of sales, head of HR and everything else. They must also look worryingly at their supply chain, contracts and market diversification in light of what might come around the corner. It shows that the country is alive to the concerns and possibilities. As I have said many times, and Senator O'Sullivan said it again, there is no such thing as a good or okay Brexit for Ireland. Equally there is no such thing as a good Brexit for the UK or the wider European Union.

I take serious issue with politicians and commentators in the UK in recent weeks and months who say "let's just get Brexit done" and that they need a clean Brexit. They are clearly ignorant that there is no such thing as a clean Brexit. There is a managed Brexit allowed for in the withdrawal agreement which is on the table, negotiated over many tortuous months by the European team led by Michel Barnier and the British officials, or there is the other option, a crash out, no-deal Brexit that abandons so many responsibilities and commitments. While the withdrawal agreement allows for a transition period of 16 to 21 months, a no-deal crash out Brexit is anything but clean. We could look at Brexit dominating the body politic of this island and across the EU for the next decade. The trade deal with Canada took nine years to negotiate. There is an opportunity under Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty to ensure that this is managed rather than a crash out which goes under Article 218. The last three and a half to four years has really shown the importance of European Union membership to this small country and all small member states across the EU. The solidarity shown has been a credit. It also shows the importance and value of membership to this island in the future. Whatever comes with Brexit, and as Senator Marshall put it eloquently, Brexit will move on, Ireland's future is absolutely within Europe. It is through Europe that we can continue to trade with the world and with the UK, and guarantee things that are so precious to us beyond economics, foremost of which is peace on this island.

I thank the Tánaiste again and wish him and his officials all the best in coming weeks.