Paul Murphy
Ceist:5. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will report on recent correspondences with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. [31332/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 3 November 2020
Ceisteanna (5, 6, 7, 8)
Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:6. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he will report on recent correspondences with the UK Prime Minister. [33223/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Neale Richmond
Ceist:7. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Taoiseach the engagement he has had with the UK Prime Minister regarding Covid-19 and the situation in Northern Ireland. [33506/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Alan Kelly
Ceist:8. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Taoiseach if he will report on recent correspondence with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. [33887/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí ó Béal (7 píosaí cainte)
I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 8, inclusive, together.
I last reported to the House on this matter on 20 September. Since then I have maintained contact with Prime Minister Johnson. I spoke with the Prime Minister on 8 October when we discussed latest developments around Covid-19 and in particular the situation in Northern Ireland, when I supported the cases for additional financial supports to underpin additional restrictions being contemplated at that time by the Northern Ireland Executive. Prime Minister Johnson contacted me following my address on the Shared Island at Dublin Castle on 22 October. There is also continuing engagement at official level between my Department and the Cabinet Office on a wide range of issues, including Covid-19. Today I received further correspondence from the British Prime Minister on my Shared Island speech on 22 October in which he appreciated the inclusive and thoughtful approach and identified issues in relation to the strategic relationship between the United Kingdom and Ireland and how we can take that forward. That is the most up-to-date correspondence I have received.
If we could please limit Deputies' questions to one and a half minutes, hopefully we could then get back to the Taoiseach for a reply.
Has the Taoiseach had correspondence or communication with Boris Johnson on the refusal of entry into Ireland of 525 people, according to an article in Vice magazine in 2019, solely or partially on the grounds that they may travel onwards to Britain or Northern Ireland? What appears to be happening is that in the context of a Tory Brexit, immigration rules in Britain are becoming increasingly racist, and nakedly so, and increasingly restrictive. The rules are being applied, de facto, in Ireland in the way the common travel area is being applied. People are being excluded entry into Ireland on the basis of Britain's increasingly restrictive rules. Why on earth are the Irish Government and Irish officials acting as enforcers of a Brexit-inspired crackdown? Are British immigration officials operating in Irish airports or are Irish officials implementing these British regulations? Why is the Irish Government going along with this crackdown on immigration?
My question, which I asked the last time, was on whether the Taoiseach actually talked to Boris Johnson and the British authorities about the imperative to have an all-island approach to Covid-19. What is their response to that? Are they indifferent or dismissive? From an infectious disease point of view, it is an irrefutable fact that to operate on an all-Ireland basis in dealing with Covid-19 would by far be the best and most effective way to deal with it. Will the Taoiseach elaborate a little bit more on what the response has been, if the Taoiseach is making the case which he says he is? As the Taoiseach said, it is not about grandstanding, it is a practical imperative. I believe him, as that is what he said, but what response are we getting other than, as the Taoiseach said, it is two different jurisdictions? Is that code for the Taoiseach being told that they do not care about the need for an integrated approach on an all-Ireland basis because these are two different jurisdictions and they are not co-operating on that basis. What is the block?
I will add to some of the questions asked, but perhaps with a slightly different tone. I thank the Taoiseach for the response given. I tabled the question specifically in relation to Northern Ireland and Covid-19 because they are the most pertinent issues of the day. I think it absolutely exposes something of a gap, going forward post-Brexit, of the Anglo-Irish relationship and of the Dublin-London relationship. There needs to be a formalisation of that relationship. We are very lucky that we are the only EU member state in a position to have that direct bilateral relationship with the Government in London through the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement. What efforts are being made to formalise not just the North-South Ministerial Council, which the Taoiseach attended and on which I appreciated the briefing, but also the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference and the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, the British-Irish Council and so much more?
I will add to colleagues' remarks. I will state it so that it is clearly understood. The Taoiseach raised the issue of schools North and South.
The Taoiseach is right. On one side of the Border schools are closing and on the other they are remaining open. That is not so much due to the vagaries of Sinn Féin policy but to the reality that we have two different sets of public health advice which are in this instance contradictory. Not alone is that a very awkward situation, it is actually dangerous. We need to work harder to ensure the systems are joined up. Of course there is merit to, and a necessity for, a healthy Anglo-Irish relationship and we must ensure that. The real moment the health of that relationship will crystalise is when we no longer have a British border on our island. That relationship is an important one but the Dublin-Belfast relationship is critical to all of this for now. Has the Taoiseach addressed this issue in respect of Covid with Boris Johnson? Has he put it to him directly that it is an imperative and a matter of national importance and interest for us to have a single approach? If so, what was his response?
As regards Deputy Paul Murphy's question, Irish migration authorities operate within their own set of policy parameters and within the legal framework that has been laid down by the Oireachtas. That will remain the position. I will follow up on the specific assertions the Deputy makes, but the work and role of Irish officials in relation to migration policy generally is certainly not as he has portrayed it.
Deputy Boyd Barrett raised issues about the all-island approach to Covid-19. The most recent announcements by the British Government about more severe restrictions in Britain and the United Kingdom should give an opportunity in how Northern Ireland responds. The Republic, the North and the UK have an opportunity in the next number of weeks to be at a similar level for a period of time. The UK Government has moved to very high levels of restrictions because of advice it has received from public health authorities, on which it is now acting. There are different perspectives in the Executive and across the political spectrum in the North about the level at which restrictions should be and the length of time for which those restrictions should apply. In my discussions with both the First Minister and the deputy First Minister I identified early on the very high levels of Covid infections in Donegal and along the Border in Cavan and the need for common-sense, pragmatic levels of co-operation. We will continue to work with the Northern authorities in that regard over the next while. It is important to work in a constructive spirit of engagement.
Deputy Richmond made a very important point. One of the key outcomes of my meeting with the British Prime Minister last August was that we instructed our officials to work on developing proposals around structures for a post-Brexit British-Irish relationship and how the relationship would evolve structurally post Brexit. We have both been members of the European Union since the early 1970s, and during that period a significant degree of familiarity has developed through meeting regularly at European Union meetings, both at an official and a political level. In many ways, that has helped improve and enhance the relationships between successive British and Irish Governments over decades, leading to very significant and strong bilateral relationships which have underpinned the Downing Street declaration and the Good Friday Agreement itself.
The importance of the British-Irish dimension and relationship cannot be understated and it is something on which we have to work very hard post Brexit. I would worry about this issue if we do not move to recognise the realities of Brexit, the fact the UK will be outside the European Union, and the necessity therefore, on a host of bilateral issues and in terms of the issues on the island of Ireland, for Britain and Ireland to continue that key relationship and develop structures and a stronger relationship post Brexit to deal with those issues and work harmoniously together on issues of mutual concern. The next meeting of the British-Irish Council is on 6 November and will be hosted by the Scottish Government. It will be a virtual meeting. On the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, it is my intention to accelerate that forum and create new momentum within it on the wider issue of British-Irish relations.
Deputy Boyd Barrett asked about the UK's response to Covid-19. It has evolved. When we introduced level 3 restrictions, I am not sure the British Government was ready to go to level 3 or to the level it is going to now. We then moved a notch higher than level 3 to level 5, having gone to level 4 in Donegal. The British Government has now moved as well.
As regards travel and the common travel area, I am not opposed to the idea to which Deputy McDonald alluded of the possibility of the two islands having a common approach to travel. All areas are nearly red at the moment for travel, and while that is problematic now, the aviation industry needs some signals for the future and next summer, for example. That is why Ireland has decided to opt into the European Commission's travel proposals. Equally, there is a need to see if we can develop a common approach on the British-Irish side. There is work going on at the moment to validate antigen testing clinically and see whether that will be applicable. There are different perspectives within our health community on the value of antigen testing or the degree to which it can be used. Other countries are using antigen testing as part of their responses to Covid-19 and the UK Government is looking at a pilot project in Liverpool regarding the utilisation and application of antigen testing. That is something we are going to watch very carefully indeed.
Sitting suspended at 4.58 p.m. and resumed at 5.18 p.m.