Soundbites, spin, lies, chaotic debates, demos, slogans on buses, broken promises, half-sitting MPs, a distracting cwtchy dog. You name it, it’s probably all happened during this Brexit play. It would certainly give the The Thick of It a run for its money, anyway. But superficial spin and game playing is one thing in the yah-boo world of the asbestos-ridden Westminster Parliament, and the harsh realities of the economic self-harm being instigated by the hard-line 'no-dealers' is another matter entirely and one which we ignore at our peril.

I was a little sceptical about what this debate here today could achieve when I first heard that we were being recalled. Just as a 16-year-old Greta Thunberg might have thought she would have no power to make climate change a worldwide priority when she started her school strike campaign, we too may think that we don't have the power to influence the UK Government in the toxic climate that is politics at the moment. But we underestimate ourselves if we start to think that way, and we do ourselves and our roles as elected politicians of Wales a disservice also. After all, we introduced the smoking ban before we could implement it legally as a moral stand, to show what we were prepared to do had we had those powers at our fingertips. We have made statements of solidarity, as has been mentioned earlier, with other nations in times of strife and upheaval, and sent medical staff to help the wounded in Palestine. If we only imagine that we can be strong enough to make changes, just like Greta did, and is still doing, then we can do so too. We might not yet be a Parliament on a nameplate outside the Senedd steps, but we can be a Parliament in action, in how we convey our messages to the world, and it is in this spirit that I wrote what I wanted to say today.

The day after the Brexit referendum result, aside from being in shock at the result, as most were on both sides, I imagine, I woke to news about how Brexit would affect Ireland and the north of Ireland—its people, its borders, its economy and its peace. I hardly saw any of this debated during the Brexit referendum itself. What I read I searched for avidly, as a daughter of a woman from the Falls Road who had lived through the Troubles. I wondered why this wasn’t higher up the political agenda. After all, if Brexit was going to hit anywhere hard, it was going to be there. The day after, it seemed, everyone recognised how difficult finding a solution would be there, and a misstep or a broken deal could lead to broken lives and broken communities. Whether we know the ins and outs of the Good Friday agreement—as I don't think many in the UK Government do—is one thing, but what we should all know in this Chamber here today is how catastrophic a 'no deal' Brexit would be for Ireland, and how it will impact not only them, but all of us here in this Chamber.

Politicians in the US have already indicated that they would not support a UK-US trade deal should the terms of the Good Friday agreement be undermined—a deal that is surely integral to Boris and his team if they are serious about the retention of the so-called ‘special relationship’ with the US. They must know how deep the links are between communities of people in Ireland and the US, the integral role Senator George Mitchell and others played in the negotiations at the height of the Troubles. They will not sit back and watch a 'no deal', hard border take shape.

Do we also believe the wider world community will not react if the UK is seen as being so disregarding and blasé about this international agreement? I fear the 'leave with no deal, no agreement, come hell or high water' minority are dangerously close to actions that will not only cause significant damage to our economy, but also the reputation of a UK they claim to want to protect. Do they really want to press the button on a 'no deal' Brexit and unleash demons in this country, particularly in the north of Ireland, that we will not be certain that we can contain easily?

In this country, we talk about war and violence with rose-tinted spectacles. We commemorate those who fought in wars that most of us don’t even remember. But, in the north of Ireland, violence is not a footnote of the past. Peace lines still exist. Attacks are still happening, as with Lyra McKee, the young journalist who was shot in Belfast recently. It is blind and totally irresponsible for 'no deal' Brexiteers to be so cavalier, when peace is so vulnerable on our doorsteps.

Here is a short paragraph that my mother, who moved to Wales to get away from the violence and trouble on the streets of Belfast, gave me when I said I would be speaking here today:

'As a child and teenager, growing up in Belfast was difficult. Every single day we saw shootings/ bombings/ hijacking/ searches. Much of this was unreported on the mainland. No family was exempt and we all suffered our own tragedies.

'When Bombay Street in the lower Falls was set on fire by loyalists, the people became refugees in their own city.

'I remember helping them in the leisure centres where they were re-located, until accommodation was found. For weeks there were barricades at both ends of the street where I lived, and residents slept on the floor, afraid of more attacks.

'This was a reality for the people in Northern Ireland. Everyone lived on their nerves. Parents feared for their children, and recruitment levels to paramilitary groups soared.

'Most Catholics had never met a protestant and vice versa. Ignorance fuelled discord.

'With the Good Friday agreement, there was a new atmosphere of hope, as the right of Catholic people in the north to be classed as equals with the loyalist community was recognised as a legitimate aim.

'My generation, now in their 60s and 70s, do not wish to see a return to the days of the troubles. We feel outraged at talk of a return to a border.

'There is a growing band of disconsolate youths, who have never experienced the troubles, and are ready to take up the struggle. They may be few in number now, but with a border hardening hearts and minds, this number may well grow.

'Whatever happens, peace in Northern Ireland should not be a bargaining chip in Boris Johnson's grand plan.

'Who will speak up for the people of the north of Ireland?

'Who will peacefully champion their cause?

'Will we stand by and watch Ireland descend into a sectarian crisis again?

'We need to defend, and stand up for our rights as Europeans and Irish citizens.’

We should heed her words, and others like her. We do not live in a vacuum. Brexit, of course, will affect Wales directly—and my colleagues have said this eloquently here today—and the lives we lead here in Wales. But let us not underestimate how a 'no deal' Brexit may change people’s lives forever close to home—closer to home than we can ever imagine.

So, let us not stand by and let this happen, but stand up, speak out strong, and tell the world that this should not go ahead.