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Julian Smith has insisted that checks between Northern Ireland and Great Britain will be minimal after Brexit.<\/p>\nJulian Smith has insisted that checks between Northern Ireland and Great Britain will be minimal after Brexit.<\/p>\n
The Northern Ireland Secretary was unable to give any further detail on the nature of the checks proposed in the British Prime Minister\u2019s draft deal to leave the EU, but repeated they would be minimal.<\/p>\n
Unionists have expressed concern over the proposed Brexit deal that Boris Johnson agreed with the European Union.<\/p>\n
At Westminster, the DUP has refused to back the deal, while in Belfast earlier this week there was a meeting of loyalists who warned they will not accept an \u201ceconomic united Ireland\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mr Smith moved to reassure unionists, saying that Northern Ireland will be \u201cout of the European Union, out of free movement rules, out of the EU budget, out of fisheries policy, out of the common agricultural policy and free to do trade deals\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re talking about a very limited set of goods areas and on that I am going to be working with Northern Ireland businesses and political parties to make sure that the Government is minimizing any challenge between NI and GB,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Pressed on what those checks will be, Mr Smith responded: \u201cThere will be some information required but it\u2019s a minimal amount.\u201d<\/p>\n
During Mr Smith\u2019s first appearance at the Northern Ireland Affairs committee at Westminster today, a Northern Ireland Office official detailed the level of trade from Northern Ireland to Great Britain as \u20ac20.9 billion, \u20ac6 billion with the Republic of Ireland and \u20ac4 billion with the rest of the EU.<\/p>\n
DUP North Antrim MP Ian Paisley put to Mr Smith: \u201cI have to go out and tell businesses in my constituency that I don\u2019t know what you have to do to carry out \u00a318 billion worth of trade with our country, our country, not a foreign country \u2026 you want me to vote for this? You can\u2019t be serious.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Smith responded: \u201cWe have got our own commitments we are going to put into the withdrawal agreement bill to deliver unfettered access from GB to NI. We\u2019ll be looking at communication technology and we\u2019ll be making sure we support Northern Ireland businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will be fully committed to making sure that business transaction, the movement of those goods will be as easy and straightforward as we can do. It\u2019s obviously in the Government\u2019s interests that\u2019s the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Paisley responded telling Mr Smith he would feel \u201cpretty aggrieved\u201d if he had to fill in a form to move goods from his constituency in North Yorkshire to London.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet us see what is required \u2026 we will work to make sure we keep things as minimal and as similar as they are today.\u201d<\/p>\n
DUP Strangford MP Jim Shannon blasted the Brexit deal as \u201cabsolutely despicable\u201d, worse than Theresa May\u2019s withdrawal agreement.<\/p>\n
Labour St Helen\u2019s North MP Conor McGinn put it to Mr Smith that it had been a \u201chuge policy shift\u201d to \u201chaving a border between NI and GB\u201d, and asked whether he wished to apologize to the unionist people for \u201cmaking them a promise you couldn\u2019t keep\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say to unionists that I believe strongly this has no impact on the constitutional settlement in Northern Ireland, it has no impact on the workings of the Assembly but it does give Northern Ireland an opportunity to benefit from UK trade deals and it does give Northern Ireland the opportunity to have the best of both worlds,\u201d Mr Smith responded.<\/p>\n