Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I echo the words of thanks to the Tánaiste for his commitment in engaging with this House, listening to our views and hopefully taking them on board. We appreciate the opportunity to air our views and engage with the Tánaiste and through the officials who are working very diligently on what is a complicated and challenging time for all of us.

The Tánaiste alluded to the latest news coverage from Britain on the proposals in the non-paper or, as Senator Marshall put it, the nonsense paper. If we take the Tánaiste and Taoiseach at their word, and I do, that this is an absolute non-runner for the Irish Government and the vast majority of the people of Ireland, North and South, we need to dig a bit deeper and go beyond these papers to look at what has been said today.

This morning the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, said on BBC Radio 4 that the reality of Brexit was that there would have to be customs checks on the island of Ireland after the UK leaves the EU. I will take Senator O'Sullivan's advice to an extent that "is binn béal ina thost" because I believe this is a crucial and pivotal time for the Tánaiste and his negotiating colleagues. However, I wish to outline to the House other realities including that the people of the North voted to remain. We should never, ever forget that. There is also the reality that the Good Friday Agreement, which was overwhelmingly endorsed by the people of Ireland, North and South, says that there will be no change to the constitutional status here unless a majority of people consent to it. No one in Ireland, North or South, has consented to Brexit. We have rehearsed those arguments before but they are fundamental points that need to be repeated even at this late stage.

Reflecting on last night's leak, and I am sure Senator Marshall felt the same, it is probably the most concerned I have felt since this process began to be inflicted on us over two years ago so I can only imagine what people along the Border are feeling. This is indicative of a school of thought in the British establishment that could not give a hoot about Ireland, about our peace process, the Good Friday Agreement, our rights or our political, social, economic and cultural aspirations for the future. It is a matter of deep concern. As correct as the Tánaiste was to address it so quickly and succinctly, I do not think that this fear and concern will dissipate any time soon.In page 3 of the Tánaiste's address to us this afternoon he referred to the backstop. He knows our party's position on the backstop; it is the bottom line. It is the least worst option. We wish him well in trying to advance and secure the backstop in terms of the overall negotiation. In the fourth or fifth paragraph, the Tánaiste stated the backstop remains "the only viable solution ... that avoids any physical infrastructure and related checks or controls, fully protects the Good Friday Agreement and North-South co-operation and preserves the all-island economy as well as the integrity of the EU Single Market and Ireland's future place in it." The other opportunity to protect all of those things is within the Good Friday Agreement. The Tánaiste knows my view and the view of Sinn Féin on that. I refer to the opportunity to give a real people's vote, one which we have all democratically endorsed and support, namely, a referendum on the constitutional future of the North. It was, after all, a previous Fine Gael Taoiseach, who secured from the EU a commitment that a unified state would enter in its entirety back into the EU. The Good Friday Agreement is our political life raft. It is our escape route out of this Brexit mess being inflicted upon us. I am all for a people's vote. I am in favour of a people's vote that we all supported and endorsed in the Good Friday Agreement.

I wish to put a number of questions to the Tánaiste on the Border and the common travel area. The latest advice from the Department of the Taoiseach states: "There are no requirements for passport controls in operation for Irish and British citizens travelling between Ireland and the UK and there will be no change to this as a result of Brexit." In addition to making reference to the separate matter of air and sea carriers that might want identification in the common travel area, the advice states, in contradiction, that immigration authorities may also require one to have valid official photo identification which shows one's nationality and, therefore, people should please check that their passport is valid. That is the advice on the Department of the Taoiseach's website.

The current legislation concerning passport checks is section 11 of the Immigration Act 2004, which was amended in 2011. It, in fact, does not just exempt Irish and British citizens from duties to carry passports on journeys from the North or elsewhere in the common travel area, but exempts Irish and other EU citizens, including currently British citizens, the latter group which would be affected by Brexit. I am not aware of any other law that obliges the carrying of other photo identification showing my nationality. When the Tánaiste responds to me could he confirm that there is no legislation that obliges me or any other EU citizen to carry a passport or other form of photo ID when travelling here from the North? Could he therefore correct the online advice if that is the case? Is there any need at this stage to bring the omnibus Act back before these Houses to review it, based on some of the political realities that are coming to pass? Sin an méid atá le rá agam.