Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 February 2019
42. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if a travel plan has commenced in view of Brexit in order to be prepared for the possible reintroduction of a hard Border. [9444/19]
View answerThe Withdrawal Agreement, agreed between the EU and the British Government on 25 November 2018, includes a legally binding Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland to address the Irish specific issues related to the UK’s departure from the EU. The Protocol fully achieves Ireland’s priorities, through protecting the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts, avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland, protecting continued North-South cooperation and acknowledging the continuation of the Common Travel Area.
The importance of avoiding a hard border to people living in all the border counties cannot be underestimated. The Government is acutely conscious of this. The North South cooperation we enjoy today brings tangible benefits to the daily lives of people in the border region and contributes to economic opportunity and development. The best and only way to ensure an orderly withdrawal and to fully protect the Good Friday Agreement and the gains of the peace process, including the avoidance of a hard border is to ratify the Withdrawal Agreement, agreed between the EU and the British Government.
The Government in not preparing for the re-introduction of a hard border. If the UK cannot agree to the Withdrawal Agreement and leaves the EU without a deal, Ireland and the EU will have responsibilities in terms of ensuring protection of the Single Market and Customs Union. The UK will have its own responsibilities, including meeting WTO requirements. And we will all have our obligations under the Good Friday Agreement, and to ensure peace and stability in Northern Ireland. So we will still have to work together to ensure that we deliver on the shared goal of avoiding the return of a hard border, deal or no deal. We are committed to doing all in our power to ensure that goal is met. But it is preferable for us all to resolve this now, as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement.
In terms of travel and the movement of people, the Common Travel Area (CTA) is a long-standing arrangement between the UK and Ireland which means Irish citizens can move freely to live, work, and study in the UK on the same basis as UK citizens and vice versa. The CTA is therefore central to preserving the free movement of people on the island of Ireland. Both the Irish and British Governments have committed to the maintenance of the CTA and the associated rights and entitlements of Irish and British citizens under this longstanding reciprocal arrangement in any circumstance. To that end, both Governments have committed to undertaking all the work necessary, including through legislative provision to ensure that the Common Travel Area rights and privileges are protected.
Protecting and maintaining the Common Travel Area and the associated rights and privileges is a key part of our contingency planning and preparations.
On 22 February, the Government published the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2019. This includes the legislation required immediately in a no deal scenario. The Bill provides for continued access to healthcare, social security protection, student support, protection of consumers, and justice and security measures, in support of the Common Travel Area. The Government is working with the Oireachtas to ensure that the Omnibus Bill is in place by 29 March.
