Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Seanad Éireann: - upholds the Good Friday Agreement, in all its parts, and calls for its full implementation;

- condemns the vote in the British House of Commons to reject the House of Lords Amendment 40 to the ‘Nationality and Borders Bill’; this decision will

see the imposition of an ‘electronic travel waiver’ for non-Irish and non-British citizens travelling from the South into the North of Ireland;

- notes the total absence of information regarding the imposition of this unnecessary and punitive measure or how it will be enforced;

- expresses our deep concern at the impact this ‘electronic border’ will have on families and communities who live along the border, in particular, and on workers, students, families, tourists and visitors to Ireland;

- calls on the Irish Government to mobilise its international and diplomatic influence to oppose this decision and call for its urgent reversal; and

- reaffirms our opposition to a hard border, of any kind, in Ireland.

I am sharing time with my colleague, Senator Boylan. I will take ten minutes and she will take six.

I thank the Minister for being here tonight for the motion. I think it signals the seriousness of the subject matter we are discussing and, indeed, his interest in it. I also welcome Luna Lara Liboni and Grace Tierney from the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and Daniel Holder, deputy director of the Committee on the Administration of Justice, who are in the Visitors Gallery.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank colleagues from across the House for their support for tonight’s Private Members' business. I know all Members share the same deep concerns that I and many others have about the implications of the British Government’s Nationality and Borders Act on life in Ireland. A very important public message we are sending to the British Government tonight is that this Chamber will be united and implacably opposed to this regressive and harmful legislation. This shows the scale of opposition to the Nationality and Borders Act here.

This Act will fundamentally damage the Good Friday Agreement, the economy of this country, South and North, and directly effect the lives of countless workers, families, students, healthcare professionals and people availing of healthcare, who at the moment move freely South to North and North to South on a daily basis to work and live their lives. A refugee child or someone from outside Britain or Ireland who has made this place their home and plays for their local GAA club has to apply for a waiver if they want go up North to play a match, take part in a cúl camp or watch a championship game. That is a level to which this legislation can negatively permeate throughout the lives of our communities.

It will potentially disrupt trade, tourism, education, healthcare and day-to-day life, especially for communities along the Border. The broader motivations and intentions behind its Act are repugnant, anti-refugee and run contrary to any kind of progressive, inclusive and positive politics, which my colleagues and I, and I believe a majority of people in Ireland, would aspire to.

This Act is rooted in the British Government’s Brexit decision. It is a decision that caused chaos among the people of Britain and continues to cause serious collateral damage to the people of Ireland up to this day. We have only to look at the refusal of the Democratic Unionist Party, DUP, to form an Executive in the North because of its attitude to the protocol, itself a consequence of Brexit, and a necessary consequence to protect the economies of this country and the EU. The people of Ireland are being punished by the Nationality and Borders Act and the DUP's approach to the agreed protocol, both products of the decisions by the British Government.

One of the few but very important successes of our collective opposition to Brexit was to ensure there would be no hardening of Britain's border in Ireland. That was achieved because the Irish Government and the majority of parties in the North's Executive were opposed to such a border. Crucially, that opposition had the support of President Joe Biden’s administration and EU member states. The decision was not to have a hard border. It was not conditional; it was unconditional. There was to be no border of any kind - physical or electronic. Now, on foot of the Nationality and Borders Act, which has been passed by Westminster, we are facing a hard border for some. However, it will very quickly become, because of its broader ramifications, a hard border for each and every one of us.

We are facing the imposition of an electronic waiver for non-Irish and non-British citizens travelling throughout this country. It will affect tourists from all over the world, especially those many tourists who visit us from North America. In practice, this Act could require President Joe Biden, should he choose to lead a delegation on a visit to Ireland, which will be for many their ancestral and much loved family home place, to have an electronic waiver to travel North. How absurd and offensive is that? Let us consider someone such as Congressman Richard Neal, for example, a proud Irish American who we hope will address the Seanad later this month and who has been absolutely steadfast and abundantly clear in his opposition to any hardening of the border and the consequences such move would have. Are we seriously telling someone like Richard Neal, who travelled here throughout 1980s when the conflict was at its height, that he will now, in 2022, need a waiver to move from one part of Ireland to another? How do we think that will go down? How did the British Government think that will go down?

This will also the rest of us who live here. We may be related to those who travel daily across the Border or who are visiting here as tourists or as our families. The peace process brought with it many benefits, in particular the right to freedom of movement unhindered across this country. The British Act that we are debating tonight effectively ends that freedom of movement for non-Irish and non-British citizens. In that regard, it is a direct assault on the Good Friday Agreement, the peace process and the political processes and institutions that emerged from it. Quite frankly, it is total madness.As Members here will know well, I am of the view that there should be no border in Ireland. The sooner we get rid of it the better for us all - nationalist, unionist and everyone else. The imposition of this electronic border serves the interests only of the British Government. Its imposition reflects that government's indifference to and, indeed, disregard for the needs of the people of Ireland, our peace and political processes and our economy. It is ushering in a hierarchy of rights where the British Government - not the Irish Government, the North's Executive or the people who live here - is the arbiter and decision-maker of how we will live our lives, how people who come here for a better way of life live their lives and how visitors from all over the world relax and enjoy Ireland's famous and world-renowned hospitality.

I am sure that much like the Minister, I often wish someone, somewhere, in the British Government and its parliament would actually read the Good Friday Agreement, GFA. Tourism Ireland is a cross-Border body set up under the auspices of the GFA. It does a world-class job in promoting Ireland internationally. It promotes Ireland, as the Minister and colleagues will know, as a single tourist destination and as one unit, where people can visit Kilmainham Gaol and the Guinness Storehouse on Monday and the Cliffs of Moher and the Ring of Kerry on Tuesday, before finally making their way to the James Connolly Visitor Centre, Titanic Belfast, the "Game of Thrones" exhibition, the Museum of Free Derry and the Somme Heritage Centre on another day and enjoy them unhindered, uninterrupted and unimpeded, as it should be.

The Act we are debating undermines all of that and significantly and flagrantly disrupts the positive and transformative work of a GFA body, namely, Tourism Ireland. Today the North's tourism alliance provided a detailed assessment of the damage the Act will do to the tourism industry. The assessment said the Act be "hugely detrimental to tourism on ... [this] island". The report identified that of those who will have to apply for a waiver and pay for the privilege, some 60% spend nights in the North and the South and 13% spend one night in the North. The tourism industry was not consulted at any stage in the legislation process for this Act, despite being key stakeholders. It is typical.

In all of this, we need to remember that the tourism industry is on its knees as a result of the pandemic. It cannot take the unwanted imposition of this so-called waiver. Tourism Ireland's research has continuously confirmed that hassle and expense are key deterrents for travellers when choosing their holiday destination and, therefore, consumer perception on ease of travel is paramount. In addition, should the electronic travel authorisation, ETA, be implemented in its current format, EU nationals who arrive in the South using an EU ID will not be able to enter the North as a passport is a prerequisite for the ETA. This will be an additional cost should they decide to visit Ireland. The report also estimates that £130 million is at risk from the imposition of the ETA for people who live in the South and who are not Irish residents, but are legally resident due to EU membership, should they wish to travel north.

On an industry-wide level, Tourism Ireland estimates the introduction and associated ETA costs could be £160 million and affect more than 500,000 visitors. Derry, in particular, because of its Border proximity could be hit hard. Key visitor attractions could also be hit. It is obvious on any sensible rule of thumb that this Act should not have become law, should not be implemented and that the Irish Government should use its high standing and status in the international community to mobilise international opinion to convince the British Government to bin it.

I thank the Minister's officials through him, especially in the Irish embassy in London, who have worked tirelessly to highlight the implications of this Act. I am deeply sorry that they and many of the rest of us have once again been ignored by the British system and its insular agenda in pursuing the Nationality and Borders Act. I hope, as the motion calls on him to do, that the Minister will lead strongly in mobilising international pressure and opposition to ensure that Ireland and our people, workers, students, communities and valued visitors are all protected from the potential impact of this British Government legislation.