Emma Little Pengelly accuses opponents of misrepresenting what the DUP said about its Safeguarding the Union deal
The deputy First Minister has said the “progress” made so far on the Irish Sea border arrangements was thanks to the DUP’s action on the original Northern Ireland protocol.
Emma Little Pengelly accused opponents of misrepresenting what the DUP said at the time of its Safeguarding the Union deal, arguing that the party had said it was progress but “there was more to be done”.
When the deal emerged in January, former leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said it delivered “zero checks, zero customs paperwork on goods moving within the United Kingdom”.
He claimed: “That takes away the border within the UK” – adding that it wasn’t perfect but he would “be honest with people about what we’ve been able to deliver”.
During Tuesday’s debate, Ms Little Pengelly also said that her party’s attempts to soften the worst aspects of the original protocol on Northern Ireland’s businesses were undermined by Sinn Fein, Alliance and SDLP politicians.
“You were running to the European Union. You were running down the road to Dublin, and you were asking them to rigorously implement something that would have caused huge, huge harm to Northern Ireland. That is shameful”, she told MLAs.
The Lagan Valley MLA said the current arrangements’ origin “is back in a deeply flawed protocol document botched by Boris Johnson and his government” and that “these issues will continue to flow, and they continue to flow because of articles five to 10 and the issue that we've always said, because I've heard this already in the chamber today, saying, what's the alternative?
“Well, I'll tell you what the alternative is. It's a logical system based on the assessment of risk, on proportionality, looking at issues such as mutual enforcement, looking at a mutual recognition of standards”.
She added: “there are many, many different ways” to do what the Protocol aims to. “We must not forget that at this moment in time, the UK is fully aligned and signed up to the same EU standards as the EU. We are checking, but from one area with the same standards, into another area with exactly the same standards, it is absolutely ridiculous. It is totally disproportionate, it is not based on on risk”.