Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am glad and heartened to hear that. However, with the greatest respect, it is not within the Minister's gift to make that commitment. The difficulty, as mentioned by various Ministers and members of the Government at committees, is that a hard Border would present obvious infrastructural, political and social problems. That includes issues of policing and justice. Comments from the British Government indicate they are taking a certain trajectory with regard to a hard Border and there will be input from other EU member states. I know I am preaching to the choir and do not need to say this to the Minister but this is happening at a much broader level. I flagged this and our accessibility to the EU structures and rights afforded to us as Irish and EU citizens because they are all in jeopardy. In negotiations that will take place at the various levels of government across the EU, there must be a steadfast and resolute position with regard to looking at Ireland in its entirety.

With the greatest respect, I mentioned rights and accessibility to EU rights and courts. They are different but it is not quite the same for an Irish citizen living in Ballymurphy as an Irish citizen living in Birmingham. I say that with the greatest respect for our emigrant community.

It impacts on the legacy issue. The British Government currently refuses to engage in the legacy process using national security as a veto. All the options open to us, whether that is through engagement with the Government or EU structures and EU courts, could potentially be at risk and this presents massive political and social difficulties.