Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Deputy McEntee to the House and thank her for her work as Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs. She has been very active in all the capitals of the other 27 EU countries, including Britain. She has also created a very good image for the State. She has done well.

The Tánaiste, Deputy Coveney, has outlined the present position in great detail and it is moving very fast, so perhaps the less said the better at this stage. The matter is at a very sensitive stage. The speech by the Tánaiste was an opportunity for him to address this House and update us and the country in a comprehensive manner as to the position, and he took it. His assessment of the situation is one to which we all remain joined. It is unique, at least in the years that I have been in this House, that we have had such unity of purpose between all parties and Independents. Everyone is singing from the one hymn sheet as far as this issue is concerned because everyone understands this is the most serious issue that has affected us in the past 100 years. Everything must be looked at comprehensively.

The key point at the moment is whether an agreement will be reached on 31 October. An agreement would have to be ratified by the European Parliament, the negotiators and the House of Commons. Will the Hilary Benn Bill kick in and an extension be sought until next January or a year's time? It would certainly be better to have an extension than to have no agreement at all. The no-agreement situation would be the most serious one because it would create absolute chaos for the whole Single Market, including exports, imports and so forth.

I watched John Redwood MP at the Conservative Party conference last night. He and I were members of the Council of Ministers when we negotiated the Single European Act, and he was an active member and good colleague in that regard. It is sad to see that he has become such a Brexiteer because, at that time, he put forward many issues that were accepted unanimously by all the Council members. There were fewer than 28 members at that time but there was never a division. He was a very good colleague from an Irish point of view when we brought issues forward. At that time, the Single European Act was a very forward-looking plan and we got derogation on many issues that we were not in a position to compete with at the time.

Let us consider Ireland's relationship with the United Kingdom before the European Union. We signed the very important Anglo-Irish Free Trade Agreement in 1965. It was signed between the Governments of that time in advance of the European Union and allowed free movement of trade between our two countries. Our joint membership of the European Economic Community, EEC, brought about new opportunities for trade throughout the whole region. The British Government is throwing away agreements that have been negotiated with Japan, Canada, the United States of America and South America, the last of which is not a particularly popular deal from our point of view but it can be tweaked.

I am pleased, in that regard, that the outgoing Commissioner, Phil Hogan, has secured one of the most significant commissionerships in the European Union and he will be a vital cog. He will be representing the 27 countries of the European Union, not only Ireland, if and when Britain leaves the Union. He will be at the forefront of all negotiations on a future trade agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union. It is good to have somebody of his experience there who is so conscious and naturally well aware of the sensitivities of our position.

At this stage, Ireland is in no position to renegotiate any situation. It is a matter for the European Union and Mr. Barnier, in consultation with his colleagues, Ministers and the Commission. I, like others, compliment the European Union on standing firmly with Ireland as far as the backstop is concerned and protecting the integrity of the negotiated Good Friday Agreement. We have built those relationships through the Tánaiste and our Civil Service. I compliment our negotiators in the European Union, our ambassador to the EU and the marvellous staff over there. Senator McDowell served in government and will have realised the support and briefings that we Ministers received when we went to Europe. The Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, knows the calibre, quality, negotiating skill and high standing of our officials. I pay tribute to them. They are geared towards exactly what is happening in the European Union and are among the most influential civil servants in the European Union because of their ability to communicate and their warmth with members and colleagues throughout the Union.

I say the same thing for organisations in Ireland that represent barristers, solicitors and auctioneers and that have representatives in Europe. There are many organisations in Europe that have representatives from Ireland and we play a vital role in that regard.

Our negotiating team is negotiating along with Mr. Barnier, not directly with the United Kingdom. My choice would have been that the United Kingdom and Ireland became one special economic zone within the European Union. That would have solved a lot of problems at the very start. We are only 1% of the population of Europe but will be feeling nearly 90% of the collateral damage of the UK leaving the EU. At some stage, that solution should have been considered, but that is in the past now. We are down to realities at this point. The British Government cannot walk away from its financial commitments to the European Union because they are commitments to its own citizens who will be paid pensions and so on in that regard. The UK cannot just walk away and say it will not make a deal, because it must honour its commitments one way or another.

We hope there will be a deal and I am confident there will be one in the days before the deadline. It is to be hoped that deal will be accepted and not rejected by the House of Commons, or an extension triggered if that deal is not settled. The one thing we do not want is to walk away from the negotiating table because it would be chaos for the United Kingdom and Ireland.