Elisha McCallion (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

One might ask "Why?". It is because the British Government has been breaking the law in Ireland for centuries. It should come as no great surprise to anyone in this Chamber that I have very little faith in the British Government acting in good faith for Ireland or its people, North or South. Westminster never has and never will serve in the interests of anyone in Ireland. Conferring powers to the British Secretary of State, which is what is being proposed in the Internal Market Bill, would be a disaster for Ireland and its people. It diverts significantly from the Good Friday Agreement and, in particular, all three strands - 1, 2 and 3. Allowing the British Government to unilaterally remove powers to the devolved institutions in the North is a huge breach of strand 1. There is a very real and strong fear locally that the Bill could potentially undercut local standards and jeopardise the world-class farming and agrifood industry in the North. It also undermines strand 2 and completely undermines North-South co-operation by sidelining North-South co-ordination. The Bill ignores strand 3 of the Good Friday Agreement, which is the obligation of the British Government and the Irish Government to discuss, consult and use their best endeavours to reach agreement and co-operation on matters of mutual respect.

The Good Friday Agreement and the withdrawal agreement are international treaties that not only must be maintained but protected to prevent a hard border across this island, protect our all-island economy and the integrity of the devolved settlement and, ultimately, our peace process.