Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:41 pm on 22 October 2019.
Yes, here we go, here we go. Yes, 3,000 people dead in Northern Ireland; 'here we go', say the Tory benches. That shows exactly what they think of Northern Ireland and how blind they are to the issue of Ireland itself. Let me remind Members that this is not a question of trade; this is a question of peace. It's a question of peace. Since 1998, in my wife's home city, people are not being killed on a daily basis because of their religion and their political beliefs. This done badly carries the risk of those days returning, and there's no need for it.
Let's look at the trade issues here. One of the issues I raised about Northern Ireland does affect Wales, and I'll come on to that in a second. It appeared that if you had goods originating in Northern Ireland then you could go into the British market or the European single market without any need to have any extra paperwork. That was a competitive advantage that would have ensured that companies would have left Wales and gone to Northern Ireland. Why would you stay here when you could go somewhere where you had open access to both markets? Now, I don't know, and neither does Steve Barclay, the Brexit Secretary. Yesterday he said two entirely different things. He said Northern Ireland businesses wouldn't need export certificates then he said they did. So what does that mean now? They now need export certificates to enter both those markets, which makes them a far worse place to actually do business. And this is the problem: the uncertainty is unbelievable, and these are not small details, these are details that are hugely important for the future.
I can see the time, Llywydd. There are no impact assessments. I wouldn't buy a house without a survey. I wouldn't buy a car without test driving it. Why on earth should I buy a Brexit deal that hasn't even been assessed properly? That surely makes no sense at all. And it does affect Wales, finally. Welsh ports will be affected. There will be customs check back in Welsh ports, of that there is no doubt.
And the final point I make is this: I agree that the Northern Ireland Assembly should be able to express its view on the economic relationship between Northern Ireland and the Republic, but that's a devolved matter. That's a devolved matter. As soon as the UK Government concedes that a devolved Government and Assembly has a say over a matter that is actually not devolved, the same must apply here, and the same must apply to Scotland. The argument that Wales is represented in the UK Parliament doesn't hold, because so is Northern Ireland, and it comes back to the point that I've made many, many times in the past, and that is the UK will not hold together unless we scrutinise things like this properly, and it will not hold together until we get constitutional change. That is the challenge for all in this Chamber, but, Llywydd, I have to say that to take through this legislation in the space of a matter of days is a constitutional outrage.