‘DUP happy if there was a hard border’
FG senator urges SF to take seats in Westminster
THE DUP would be ‘quite happy with a hard border scenario’ after Brexit despite its repeated assurances to the contrary, Fine Gael’s Brexit spokesman Neale Richmond has said.
The senator, who chairs the Seanad’s Brexit committee, has said the actions taken by the DUP have made a mockery of its stated position of opposing a hard border.
The DUP has insisted the UK leaves both the customs union and single market after the EU divorce – despite this practically guaranteeing a hard border between the North and the Republic.
Last month, the party’s ten MPs in Westminster voted to leave the customs union in a poll that scraped through the House of Commons by 307 to 301 – an outcome that could have been avoided had the DUP voted the other way.
Mr Richmond told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘Based on their actions, the DUP would be quite happy with a hard border scenario. Just as they say they want Stormont re-established, they never wanted a devolved administration in the first place. They do want direct rule.
‘So, I think it’s very, very disappointing that we’re at a stage in Westminster where we only really have DUP MPs representing Northern Ireland.’
British prime minister and Tory leader Theresa May’s government is reliant on the votes of the DUP to keep it in power, after failing to secure a majority in the last UK election.
Some see this as giving the DUP undue influence over the UK government, particularly given its power-sharing responsibilities in the North. Many commentators feel the party is failing to represent the people of the North, who voted to remain in Europe by 56% to 44%.
‘The DUP are in their ideal situation,’ Mr Richmond said. ‘There’s direct rule in Northern Ireland, there’s no assembly and their MPs have real power in Westminster.’
He added: ‘They have the direct line to all ministers, they have increased funding into Northern Ireland, but they’re also maximising the benefits of being part of the EU.’
Mr Richmond said it was vital at this crucial juncture in Irish and UK politics to have strong nationalist voices in Westminster, and urged Sinn Féin to break from its abstentionist policy and take up its seats.
He pointed to the upcoming vote on the withdrawal bill, set to take place in October or November, which could ultimately determine whether the UK pursues a hard Brexit or a soft Brexit – or if it leaves the bloc at all.
‘If they take their seats, the margins are going to be so tight in this withdrawal bill that those seven votes could make a change,’ he added.
The Mail made a number of efforts to contact the DUP, but the party did not respond to requests for comment.