HOPE FOR BORDER AREA AFTER BREXIT DEAL
OLIVIA RYAN LOOKS AT AN HISTORIC WEEK IN BREXIT TALKS, AND HOPES FOR THE BORDER AREA
WHEN RTE presenter Claire Byrne met BBC’s Stephen Nolan against the spectacular view of Carlingford Lough last week, they couldn’t have imagined the dramatic events that were beginning to unfold.
Filmed as they crossed the currently seamless border to host the television special NolanByrne Live, the well known personalities swapped places for the live show.
With Claire Byrne in Belfast and the Stephen Nolan at RTE studios in Dublin, the scene was set for what looked to be the first truly transparent cross border debate on Brexit.
But within 24 hours of the show airing, reports emerged that a deal had been reached between the UK and the EU.
Two years and five months after the shock vote, it was the first major breakthrough, and a welcome one for the border area, with specific caveats for the north which were essential to preventing the return of a border to this area.
Among the first to welcome the news was the lobby group, Border Communities Against Brexit (BCAB) who have campaigned tirelessly against the return of a hard border.
Spokesman Declan Fearon said: ‘Developments on the progress of the negotiations between the British Government and the EU are welcome.
It is our understanding that the Backstop for Ireland will be set in place alongside the UK remaining in the Custom Union and Parts of the Single Market to allow further detailed trade negotiations to take place.
This would allow Certainty for everyone living in Border Communities and further across this Island. It also provides economic assurance for the thousands of business who face a very difficult future and the tens of thousands of jobs put at risk by a Brexit crash.
We will all have to wait and see what developments take place in Westminster in the coming weeks.’
The European Union’s Chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, who laid out the work being done to avoid the return of a border in this area during a visit to Dundalk earlier this year, said that a ‘solution to avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland has been found.’
He explained that Northern Ireland would stay in the same customs territory as the rest of the United Kingdom, but that the region would remain aligned to some EU regulations to avoid a hard border.
The draft agreement was, he added, a ‘ key step towards concluding the Brexit talks.’
He insisted that the backstop ‘is designed to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland post-Brexit.’
Meanwhile Louth TD, Declan Breathnach, has urged the publication of a key Brexit report, which details the areas of North-South cooperation under the Good Friday Agreement, that are at risk due to Brexit.
Deputy Breathnach, who is also vice-chair of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Im-
plementation of the Good Friday Agreement, was commenting following the call from EU Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly to publish the document given that it is in the public interest.
Deputy Breathnach said: ‘I believe this document, which sets out how dependent NorthSouth cooperation is on EU membership by both Ireland and the UK, needs to be published without any further delay.’
‘ The 1998 Good Friday Agreement makes explicit reference to ‘areas for co-operation’ many of which are directly or indirectly underpinned by EU law. We cannot countenance any threat to these areas of cooperation and must ensure their continuation long into the future.’
He added: ‘I appreciate and understand the complexity of the past number of weeks when negotiations were ongoing.
However, I think it is timely that the document is now published, and the full extent of the risk is made known. We know that Brexit will have negative consequences on this island and it is in everyone’s interest that we mitigate against this, we need to be informed to do so,’ concluded Deputy Breathnach.
Louth TD Gerry Adams also weighed in on the current crisis arising from Brexit withdrawal agreement saying: ‘Brexit is a deadly serious issue. It poses a significant threat to the economy of County Louth, to jobs and infrastructure. It threatens the two economies on this island, will undermine social cohesion, and directly attacks the Good Friday Agreement.’
He said that the crisis within the British government, along with ‘ the chaos within Westminster, and the fallout between the DUP and the Tory leader Theresa May highlights the stupidity, insanity, absurdity and ludicrousness of Brexit.’
‘In the referendum in 2016 the clear majority of voters in the North voted to remain within the EU. The DUP and the British government continue to disrespect that democratic vote.’
‘We have consistently campaigned for the North to be designated a special status within the EU in order to ensure there is no hard border and that communities and businesses, especially along the border corridor, are protected. Our MEPS led this effort in the European Parliament. In Ireland, North and South and in Westminster we consistently pressed this proposal.’
He said the the draft withdrawal agreement, and in particular the backstop arrangement, if implemented would go some way to achieving this objective.’
The Louth TD added: ‘ However we should not lose sight of the fact that the current draft withdrawal agreement will not stop Brexit.
The reality is that the agreement reached between the EU and the British can only moderate some of the worst aspects of Brexit.’
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the Government is not contemplating a hard border on the island of Ireland in the event of a rejection of the draft Brexit withdrawal deal.
He said the focus remained on getting the deal ratified, but he added that a difficult conversation with the EU would have to take place if the UK parliament votes it down.