Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 November 2018
78. Deputy Lisa Chambers asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on Brexit negotiations and, in particular, the draft withdrawal agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48354/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI seek an update on the Brexit negotiations and, in particular, on the situation with regard to the draft withdrawal agreement.
Last week, the British Government and the EU task force team, led by Michel Barnier, agreed a draft withdrawal agreement together with the outline of a political declaration on the future relationship. This is a very significant and welcome breakthrough in the Brexit process. An extraordinary European Council summit will be held on Sunday, 25 November so that the agreement, together with the political declaration, can be endorsed. The political declaration will be a much bigger document by then. A preparatory meeting of the EU General Affairs Council, which I attended, was held yesterday.
The EU and UK negotiators have worked intensively over a long period to achieve this and I offer them all my congratulations and thanks for the work they have done. In particular, Michel Barnier and his team have demonstrated extraordinary commitment and understanding. This outcome would not have been achieved without the unity and solidarity of EU member states and institutions.
The draft agreement, notably the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, meets Ireland’s objectives. It protects the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts and the gains of the peace process. Importantly, nothing in the agreement will prejudice the constitutional status of Northern Ireland and the principle of consent as set out in the Good Friday Agreement. The withdrawal agreement translates the UK’s political commitment to avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland into a legal guarantee. It provides for a backstop that will apply unless and until another solution is agreed. This means that there will be no hard border in any circumstances. That said, we hope that the backstop will never be used and that we can resolve the Border issues through a future relationship agreement that is both comprehensive and generous.
The withdrawal agreement underpins, in a dynamic way, continuing North-South co-operation and the all-island economy. It provides for the maintenance of the common travel area and protects the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement on rights, safeguards and equality of opportunity. It also confirms that Irish citizens in Northern Ireland will continue to enjoy the rights of EU citizens. The agreement also provides for a period of transition, which can be extended, in which preparations can be made for the future relationship between the EU and the UK. We are committed to working with the UK and our EU partners to secure a future relationship that is as deep and comprehensive as possible. Once the European Council has given its endorsement to the agreement, it will be for the British and European Parliaments to consider and approve it in accordance with their respective procedures.
We will have a four hour debate on this issue in the House tomorrow, with the opportunity to vote on the detail of the draft agreement at the end of that debate.
I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. Fianna Fáil very much welcomes the forthcoming debate which we requested. My party welcomed the draft withdrawal agreement between the UK Government and the EU. The agreement represents a positive step towards a potential deal. However, its ratification is not a certainty. Fianna Fáil has been accused by the Tánaiste and members of his party of playing politics with Brexit which is simply not the case. We have been generally very supportive of the Government's negotiating position on Brexit and have never sought to undermine the national position. We have put on the green jersey, so to speak, and have been advocating for the least damaging Brexit possible for the island of Ireland. The Government may not like it but it is our responsibility and right, as the main Opposition party, to ask questions and though it may be difficult for the Government at times, we will continue to ask those questions. We will not apologise for holding the Government to account, particularly in regard to one of the greatest threats ever faced by this State.
The Tánaiste met Mr. Michel Barnier yesterday. I ask him to update this House on that meeting and what was discussed. The withdrawal agreement is a draft agreement at present. Does the Tánaiste envisage any changes to the agreement as it is currently drafted and is there room for manoeuvre?
I have repeatedly thanked Fianna Fáil and other parties in this House for the support they have given to the Government's negotiating position on Brexit. Political unity in Ireland has been a key factor in allowing us to take clear positions that have subsequently resulted in achieving solidarity across the EU and has played an important part in helping us to get a wording across the line that protects core Irish interests.
Regarding the text of the agreement, it is only a draft agreement in the sense that it is awaiting approval by the European Council. This is a text that has been agreed between the negotiating teams and by the British Government and to that extent, it is not a draft text. It is now the text and it is not going to be reopened. The Spanish have some concerns with the agreement as it relates to Gibraltar but it was very clear from the General Affairs Council meeting yesterday that while we want those issues addressed, the text should not be changed now. It has taken two years to put that draft withdrawal agreement together. It is sensitive and difficult and represents a compromise on both sides, with the EU and the UK both trying to accommodate the other's concerns. It is a balanced text that is good for the UK as a whole and protects core Irish concerns and mitigates potential damage. I do not believe that it will change and it is not open for change. What will change, however, is the political declaration on the future relationship. That was a short, seven page skeleton document last week which will become at least a 20 page document. Hopefully, we will see the wording of that later this evening or tomorrow. We know that Prime Minister Theresa May is planning to travel to Brussels tomorrow to meet Jean-Claude Juncker, presumably to talk about the final wording of that declaration, in the build-up to a summit on Sunday which I hope will be successful for both sides.
I am glad the Tánaiste has clarified that this is the text because comments were made in the House of Commons last week to the effect that this was not the final agreement and that certain aspects of it were only temporary. Perhaps that speaks more to the political situation in the UK than the tone of the conversation between the two teams.
It is important to stress that there is no such thing as a good Brexit but the withdrawal agreement contains the necessary protections and precautions to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland. It also upholds the Good Friday Agreement, particularly in the first line of the Northern Ireland protocol, which is necessary and has been very well received. It also ensures the continuance of North-South co-operation. Under the terms of the draft text, Northern Ireland is effectively given special economic status, broadly in line with what Fianna Fáil first proposed more than two years ago.
The British Prime Minister now faces difficulties and divisions within her own party and across the House of Commons. The Tánaiste also mentioned the situation in Spain over Gibraltar and there are issues about the text of that aspect of the agreement. What happens in the event that the withdrawal agreement is rejected by the House of Commons? What is the plan of the Irish Government and what is the plan of the EU negotiating team in that event? What happens the next day? What is the timeline? What is plan B if that happens? We will know in a very short time.
It is important to say that Brexit is not the Government's policy. It has never agreed with it and regrets that the United Kingdom has made the decision through the referendum to leave the European Union. Before that decision was made, this country was planning for how it would need to respond to protect core Irish interests and British-Irish relations in the context of Brexit. Last week was an important step forward in getting a text agreed, but there is still a long way to go on this. I hope the withdrawal treaty is supported on Sunday by EU leaders and subsequently supported in the House of Commons, but there is still a future relationship to negotiate which will take at least the next two to three years. Ireland will have to continue to be vigilant and try to mitigate the unintended consequences of the fallout of Brexit.
Many people have been far too quick to start jumping past the time when the Parliament in Westminster makes the decision and are assuming the worst. We should not do that. We should spend the next couple of weeks explaining to people and reassuring them as to what is in the deal. We have spent two years putting it together. It is a good deal for Ireland, the UK and the EU. It captures the complexity of an economy the size of the UK leaving the European Union and tries to deal with a whole series of competing and complex questions to do with that. Instead of focusing on contingency after a failed vote in the House of Commons, we should be talking about how we talk this up to maximise the chances of it getting support in the House of Commons, which is what the Prime Minister is doing.
