Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, will take the remaining Stages of this legislation on my behalf. At the conclusion of Second Stage, I acknowledge, as Senator Devine rightly said, the cross-party support for these measures. Everybody in this House has been working in the national interest on the issue of Brexit. I am pleased that the Government has been able to respond and engage with political parties and civic society in Northern Ireland in trying to address these challenges.

Senator Gallagher made a point about the childcare scheme and raised a broader issue related to his views on childcare. What we are trying to do in the legislation is replicate for British citizens the entitlement Irish citizens will have under the national childcare scheme. The scheme provides for progressive income-related subsidies for families as well as universal subsidies. That is the right approach. Under the scheme, those who need more get more. I am pleased that in yesterday's budget we have provided for further enhancements to the scheme, which will support lower income parents, working parents in need of longer childcare hours and lone parents. We want to build on that in the coming years. Senator Devine's question about why it is a reimbursement scheme is a legitimate one. She is right. The initial point we would all have liked to arrive at was a point where one could effectively replicate the EHIC card. For a variety of reasons, including extensive engagement with many different stakeholders, legal advice, the European Commission and, most crucially, the very short timeframe between now and a potential no-deal Brexit on 31 October, we took the decision to go with this version because we felt it was most important to have a workable scheme in place within that timeframe. Is this scheme perfect? No, it is not. Is it the best scheme we can put forward in this very short period of time? I genuinely believe it is. I take the Senator's point, which is a fair one, but getting to this point has been extraordinarily complex. It is in that vein that we present the content of the legislation in the way we do.

I am conscious colleagues have tabled amendments on Committee Stage that have all been ruled out of order. One theme about which it would be useful for me to reassure the House in an effort to be helpful concerns the amendment from Senator Devine about the definition of who is eligible. It has been suggested that we should add Irish and British citizens who are ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland. I am conscious the House will not get to debate this because it has been ruled out of order but while I am on my feet, it is useful for the record of the House and to provide reassurance to say we do not believe the amendment is necessary because section 7(1)(b)(iv) of the Childcare Support Act 2018 provides that persons who are nationals of EU member states are eligible to apply for financial support under the childcare scheme. Irish citizens ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland are already covered in section 7, so the legal advice available to me is that there is no need to refer specifically to Irish citizens ordinarily in Northern Ireland in section 7 as they will continue to be nationals of an EU member state after Brexit. British citizens ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland are captured at section 10 of the Bill. This is because regardless of their ordinary residence, British citizens will be eligible to apply for the scheme. Therefore, there is no need to refer specifically in section 7 to British citizens ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland. I say that to be helpful and constructive rather than argumentative.

I genuinely commend this legislation to the Seanad and, ultimately, to the Oireachtas. It is a very important step forward in terms of supporting people in Northern Ireland regardless of whether they choose to be Irish or British citizens or both, as is their right under the Good Friday Agreement. This is an honest attempt to ensure that access to healthcare in the EU in emergency cases can continue post Brexit.