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Brexit Negotiations

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 December 2017

Wednesday, 13 December 2017

Questions (33)

Niamh Smyth

Question:

33. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of his negotiations, particularly those relating to the Border counties of Cavan and Monaghan, in respect of Brexit and the possible reintroduction of a hard border. [53129/17]

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Oral answers (6 contributions)

I ask the Minister to outline the status of the Brexit negotiations, particularly with phase 1 having come to an end. I also ask him to address issues relating to the Border counties of Cavan and Monaghan that will arise on foot of Brexit.

I thank Deputy Niamh Smyth for her question. Last Friday was a crucial moment in the negotiations and a good day for Ireland, North and South. The Government’s long-standing goals in the context of ensuring that the Good Friday Agreement, in all its parts, and North South co-operation will be protected and in maintaining the common travel area were secured.

Crucially, in the context of the Good Friday Agreement and protecting the gains of the peace process, the UK restated its aspiration to avoid a hard border and also set out in detail for the first time how this could be achieved. In the event that it is not possible to resolve the Border issue as part of a wider EU-UK future relationship agreement - which has always been the Government’s preference - or through a specific solution for Ireland, the UK has committed that, in the absence of agreed solutions, it "will maintain full alignment with those rules of the Internal Market and the Customs Union which, now or in the future, support North-South cooperation, the all-island economy and the protection of the 1998 agreement". It has also been agreed that any agreements put in place will be accompanied by effective mechanisms to ensure implementation and oversight. We very much welcome these assurances and the details that back them up. I am satisfied that in all eventualities a hard border will be avoided.

The Government will continue to work intensively, as part of the EU 27, to ensure that the UK's exit from the EU does not undermine the peace process and does not give rise to the reintroduction of a border on the island or the introduction of one in the Irish Sea. The avoiding of a hard border is described as a “guarantee” on the UK’s part and as the “overarching requirement”. We are pleased that discussions will continue through a distinct strand in phase 2 of the negotiations. It was a very successful strategy in phase 1 to have a distinct Irish strand, along with the financial settlement and citizens' rights strands. We wanted to have that distinction again in phase 2 because there was a legitimate fear that the Irish issues would be put into a pot with all of the other big trade issues and would not get the same focus or priority. That is not now going to be the case. In phase 2, just as in phase 1, there will be a distinct Irish issues chapter or strand. That will be part of an overall agreement whereby we will have to support solutions for the Irish issues.

I thank the Minister and compliment him on the negotiations over the past couple of weeks. Obviously, the Brexit negotiations are of huge importance in the Border region, particularly for agrifood businesses such as Lakeland Dairies, which has plants on both sides of the frontier. Businesses along the Border are very anxious to ensure that the seamless border that exists at the moment will continue.

Phase 2 of the negotiations will deal primarily with the future trading relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union. I very much welcome the news that agreement has been reached on phase 1. What is especially important about that agreement is that there will be no hard border on the island, as the Minister has just outlined. Anything other than that would have had major implications for the thousands of people who cross the Border every day for work, education and leisure. However, concerns still remain because the text published last Friday repeatedly emphasises the fact that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. It is important that the EU's understanding of the guarantee is the same as UK's understanding.

Phase 2, which deals with trade, must now be addressed. It is important that we maintain a close and coherent focus on what we, as a country, want from this process. This phase will be particularly important for the agrifood and tourism sectors in Cavan and Monaghan, as well as for our export industries.

I agree with everything the Deputy said. The Border counties are in many ways uniquely affected by Brexit. The Border between Ireland and Northern Ireland will effectively become the land border between the European Union and the United Kingdom. That has created a lot of concern and has given rise to many questions and much anger in Border counties. That is why the Government took the very stubborn position of refusing to move to phase 2 until it was addressed. We got fantastic support and solidarity in that from other member states because they understand why Ireland is so concerned about this, North and South. We also have very clear language on this, which the Deputy will see when the guidelines are published at the end of this week. Those guidelines make it clear that phase 2 will not be allowed to progress unless we get assurance that the UK will follow through on the commitments it made in phase 1. That is really important and should be very reassuring for people.

Some of the ambiguous statements over the weekend on the commitments which were made last Friday have been clarified, both on the EU side and on the British Government side, and that is very welcome.

The Border counties are a particular case because they are at the coal face and I am glad to get clarification, from the Government side, the EU side and the UK side, that there is an understanding on the issue. It is important for companies such as Lakeland Dairies, which have plants on both sides of the Border, and we certainly do not want to go back to the time when there was a very visible Border because it curtailed the development of the area. I ask that, in future negotiations, positive discrimination be exercised in respect of Border counties because we are only now getting back onto our feet following the Troubles. We need to be mindful, particularly in the trade negotiations, that towns and villages along the Border are only now rising from the ashes of the Troubles.

It is not by accident that the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Heather Humphreys, is also from a Border county. It was a deliberate decision by the Taoiseach to send a message that we are prioritising the Border counties in the context of the undoubted concern around Brexit. In the new capital expenditure programme, which will be announced in the first quarter of next year, there will also be a reinforcement of the focus on the Border counties to ensure that connectivity, North and South of this island, remains strong and that the connection between the Border counties and Dublin is also factored into economic development plans. The Government is very aware of how vulnerable and exposed many Border communities feel in the context of Brexit and we need to respond to that. The agreement of last Friday is, hopefully, a strong signal of intent in that regard.

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