European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve Excerpts

Tuesday 30th January 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness O’Neill of Bengarve (CB)]

My Lords, I have two interests to declare because I shall talk about the movement of people on the island of Ireland and between our islands. I was born in Northern Ireland and am entitled to Irish citizenship as birthright. I currently use a UK passport. My identity is British and Irish, although because of the oddity of UK practices of recording ethnic classification—seemingly contrary to the Northern Ireland Act 1998—I am not allowed to state this for standard UK administrative purposes, and usually have to classify myself as “White other”. I am also on the advisory board of These Islands.

A very large number of questions have been raised about the adequacy of the Bill’s approach to dealing with retained EU law, particularly but not only in the devolved nations. That is the proper focus for this debate; we should concentrate on the constitutional adequacy and competence of the legislation, not on wider questions about Brexit.

The devolution settlements are far from uniform, as we know, which makes it harder to see what is proposed and whether it is adequate. But it is uncontroversial that the Northern Ireland settlement differs from the Scottish and Welsh settlements not merely in its provisions but in its status. Other noble Lords have spoken with more authority on this highly relevant matter. The noble Lords, Lord Hain, Lord Empey and Lord Patten, all mentioned it. This is because the Belfast or Good Friday agreement is an international agreement between the Republic of Ireland and the UK, which, alongside many other provisions, established the North/South Ministerial Council, the British-Irish Council and the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference. Part 5 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 mandates participation in the cross-border institutions.

It follows that any moves to change retained EU law after Brexit raise two distinct issues in Northern Ireland—more than two, in fact, but two very important ones. First, as for the other devolved Administrations, it raises questions about changes in devolved matters post Brexit being made by the UK Government, rather than by the relevant devolved Parliament or Assembly. Secondly, unlike the other cases, it raises questions about the UK Government’s commitment to work not only with the Northern Ireland Assembly and Administration—as we all know, these are not currently in action—but, as required by the Belfast/Good Friday agreement, with the Government of the Republic of Ireland and to have regard to the Belfast principles, which include partnership, equality and mutual respect. Will the Government write into the Bill a commitment to meet these conditions in making changes to retained EU law that bears on Northern Ireland post Brexit? What forms of interaction with Northern Ireland office-holders and with the Dublin Government will the Government commit to in order to meet these requirements? Those are my two questions to the Minister.

I believe that clarity about such restrictions post Brexit is vital. We are in the curious situation that although the Government have insisted for almost 18 months now that they do not seek a hard border on the island of Ireland, they have yet to say anything about how this is to be achieved. To be sure, we cannot say much about the trade aspects until those negotiations are further advanced but we can say something about the movement of peoples. Over a year ago, I asked a previous Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how it was to be done. She—or he—replied, I thought a bit casually, “By passports”. That was interesting. Who is to show a passport, where and for what purposes? We know that it is not to be on the Irish border, which is to remain soft, or between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, which would be intolerable to our constitutional integrity. We also know that thousands of British and Irish citizens constantly cross the border and the Irish Sea, many of them frequently, without showing passports. Noble Lords who travel only by air often forget this reality. But after Brexit if it happens, Irish policies on the free movement of labour will diverge from those of the UK and there will have to be an enforceable policy regulating the movement of persons.

My own guess is that if there is to be no hard border, any workable approach will require everyone in the UK—not just in the island of Ireland—to have a passport or equivalent secure ID, and to show it when performing significant life transactions such as taking up employment or opening a bank account. I do not think this needs to be a violation of privacy. It would provide less information for better defined purposes than the common practice of carrying a smartphone, but I am aware that this is a sensitive matter for many on the Conservative Benches. That is the sort of nitty-gritty matter which lies beneath the questions of the amendability of retained EU law post Brexit, particularly its adequacy in Northern Ireland. I hope the Government can bring forward an amendment to require compliance with the Belfast agreement in making any post-Brexit changes to retained EU law.