Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the motion and I am delighted to be back in the Chamber. We should not be partisan on this issue, and I have said consistently that we need to give credit where it is due. We have strong debates and disagreements in this House, but it is important that we always recognise the huge amount of time and energy that has been put into Brexit, by the Minister, the entire Department of Foreign Affairs and our diplomatic staff. I thank them for that.

I would like to speak on the setting aside of some of the provisions of the withdrawal agreement between the UK and the European Union, and its impact on Irish citizens. A key part of the withdrawal agreement, which is now an international treaty, is the Northern Ireland protocol. The latter is designed to prevent a hard border returning to the island of Ireland. The Internal Market Bill proposed by the UK Government would override that part of the agreement in the context of goods. The full implementation of the agreement and the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland is guaranteed under international law. Like my colleague, Senator McCallion, I am amazed at the level of surprise being expressed by politicians here to the effect that Britain is preparing to renege on parts of this agreement.The history of our country should have taught us that agreements entered into with Britain can be unilaterally broken if and when it suits the UK.

On 8 December 2017, the then Taoiseach and current Tánaiste, Deputy Varadkar, assured the people of the North that they would never again be left behind:

To the nationalist people in Northern Ireland, I want to assure you that we have protected your interests throughout these negotiations. Your birth right as Irish citizens, and therefore as EU citizens, will be protected. There will be no hard border on our island. You will never again be left behind by an Irish Government.

I am sure the current Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, as leader of Fianna Fáil, the Republican Party, would echo those sentiments. Now is the time when the rights of Irish citizens are being threatened, and we must stand up for them. Let us be honest here today. The solution to avoiding a hard border is the reunification of the island. The Irish Government should be playing a leading role in discussions on shaping a vision for what a new Ireland would look like. We have an obligation to plan and prepare for what a shared Ireland would look like and a Citizens' Assembly could be a way to examine this issue.

The statement by the British Secretary of State that the British Government's intention is to break international law is telling the international community that Britain does not feel obliged to honour its commitments in any treaties. The Bill is currently being considered by MPs before it is expected to go to the House of Lords. Politicians from Sinn Féin, the SDLP and Alliance, alongside their counterparts in Cardiff and Edinburgh, have voiced concern about what they regard as the Bill's encroachment on devolved powers. Niall Murphy, who is the secretary of Ireland's Future, has called for the Bill to be withdrawn on the basis that it undermines the Irish protocol, the Good Friday Agreement and the power-sharing institutions. Britain has become a pariah state and feels unaccountable for its actions. The seriousness of this breach of international law was highlighted when Seamus McAleavey, who is the chief executive of Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action, the umbrella body of the north's third sector groups, said his organisation was "extremely concerned" about the potential impact of the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill on the "future peace, stability, and economic well-being of people in Northern Ireland".There can be no questioning again of our right to call for a border poll. The people of the North have the right to be protected by international law.