Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State will be aware that the British Secretary of State, Mr. James Brokenshire, in response to a parliamentary question recently asserted that the whole of Lough Foyle was within the UK. Eighteen years after the Good Friday Agreement, it is unacceptable for language that is so clearly arrogant and provocative to be used. It flies in the face of the establishment of the Loughs Agency, which develops and manages the fisheries and the potential of Lough Foyle and Carlingford Lough. Carlingford's status has been resolved and there is a North-South division, but why has it taken all these years to resolve how we share Lough Foyle? Why must we still deal with such pronouncements?

We are post-Brexit and the British Tories have stated their wish to gain control over all their waters. If that includes Lough Foyle, as they assert, there will be a major problem for its fishing and tourism. We need to deal with this issue urgently. It has not been resolved because the British Government regards Lough Foyle as a strategically important naval and military point. It has ongoing operations in the area. Our Government must explain what it has done to try to resolve the situation and who is at fault. I believe that the British Government is at fault.

This issue has been ongoing for years. I have been raising this matter in all of my time in the Houses. The Loughs Agency is also raising the matter. Under the Good Friday Agreement, it is tasked with managing the lough's resources. It wants the two Governments to resolve the ownership question so that it can achieve its potential in partnership with those who fish on the lough and those who utilise it for tourism. It is a beautiful location with real potential, if only we could resolve the ownership issues.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Mac Lochlainn for proposing a Commencement matter on this important matter. I apologise for the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, who cannot be present.

The Government's response to the recent assertion by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has been twofold. First, we have made unequivocally clear Ireland's position and the Government's rejection of the UK's claim regarding Lough Foyle. Second, we have sought to return the focus of discussion and of work on the matter to dealing in a positive and pragmatic way with the matters that have arisen from the differences on jurisdictional issues.

I will briefly outline the Government's approach to the House. Ireland has never accepted the UK's claim to the whole of Lough Foyle. Uncertainty concerning the extent to which each side exercises jurisdiction within Lough Foyle has created practical difficulties for the conduct of a number of activities there, as the Senator outlined. This includes a difficulty in creating a system for the licensing of aquaculture by the Loughs Agency in accordance with the intentions of the two Governments under the 1999 agreement establishing the North-South implementation bodies. The Government wishes to see the Loughs Agency working to its full potential, which is in the interests of everyone on this island.

Following discussions in 2011 between the then Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and British Foreign Secretary, both Governments agreed to seek to address and resolve jurisdictional issues relating to Lough Foyle and Carlingford Lough. Since then, a series of meetings have taken place at official level between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The issues in question are complex and involve a range of different actors, including the Crown Estates.

As regards the specific issue of the parliamentary reply on 16 November by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the position of the Irish Government was clearly outlined by the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, in his public comments immediately afterwards. He set out Ireland's long-standing rejection of the UK claim and the Government's wish to focus on finding practical resolutions to the consequences of ongoing jurisdictional issues in Lough Foyle. He also raised the matter directly with the Secretary of State, Mr. Brokenshire, in the course of a telephone call on 23 November. Again, the Minister conveyed the Government's surprise at the Secretary of State's statement, in particular the fact that it did not refer to Ireland's position or acknowledge the ongoing negotiations between the two Governments that seek to address all jurisdictional issues on the island. The Minister noted that the stark statement on Lough Foyle at Westminster had also raised understandable concerns on both sides of the Border, but particularly in the north west. He noted that such absolute statements on jurisdiction did nothing to advance the practical co-operation and progress on the issues that require a pragmatic solution. Similar messages have been conveyed at official level to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which leads on this issue for the UK side.

Progress is in the interests of both Governments and the people of the island of Ireland. Therefore, this work will be taken forward in the continuing discussions between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office under the political oversight and direction of the Minister and his British counterpart.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Minister of State's confirmation that the Minister has conveyed the Government's concerns about the language used. I was alarmed when it was brought to my attention. I have been aware of the negotiations down the years, but the main concern is the post-Brexit situation. Some will desire to put a wall around Britain. As an Irish republican, I want a united Ireland but, in the interim, we need to share Lough Foyle to the benefit of everyone on both sides of the lough.

It is the opinion of people in the area that the British are not doing a deal on Lough Foyle because of its strategic naval and military importance. Access to Foyle Port is another issue. Were the lough split down the middle, a navigational channel would fall on the State's side. These matters are all resolvable if the will is there.

In the context of the Good Friday Agreement and the Loughs Agency, which is tasked with managing the resources for everyone, I do not understand this situation. The only thing that makes sense to me is military strategic importance. If that is the case, our Government needs to say it out loud and call out the British for playing games with the livelihoods of those in the area.

In light of Brexit, I am asking for urgency from the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and a resolution of the issues at stake at the earliest opportunity.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Brexit was mentioned, but the question of the division of jurisdictions on Lough Foyle has been with us since partition. There was a political commitment in 2011 on the part of both Governments to resolve the jurisdictional issues at Lough Foyle and Carlingford Lough. That commitment is being pursued in ongoing discussions and negotiations between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, with political oversight and direction by the Minister and his counterpart, the Foreign Secretary, Mr. Boris Johnson. This work will continue, with a particular focus on the objective of ensuring that the Loughs Agency can operate to its full potential as envisaged when it was established under the Good Friday Agreement. Therefore, the matter is not something that we currently envisage as forming part of the negotiations on the UK's departure from the EU.

The Government's approach has been clear, consistent and constructive. The UK Government's assertion that it has jurisdiction over the whole of Lough Foyle is rejected and has never been accepted by any Irish Government. To progress from this difference of view, the Government strongly remains committed to the agreement with the UK in 2011 on seeking to resolve all jurisdictional issues related to both loughs. This is where our focus will remain and the Government will seek practical solutions that can address licensing and other practical issues that arise and allow the Loughs Agency to work to its full potential, which is in the interests of everyone on the island.

Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Senator Boyhan was due to make a contribution next. Unfortunately, due to personal circumstances, he is unable to be present. I apologise to the Minister of State.