Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

That is the joy of being one's own secretary, is it not? On page five, Mr. Bruton talks about how keeping the offer of resuming UK membership on the table would be good for politics, the economy and the EU. That is really interesting. It is something that is not being pushed out there as an option. I would really like Mr. Bruton to tease that out more and speak about how he would envisage it.

People do not clearly understand enough about the revocation of the notice of withdrawal and that the UK can revoke a decision of withdrawal from the EU. That may perhaps be a very lengthy process. I do not know a lot about it. It is all news to me so I am glad to be here to listen to what Mr. Bruton had to say about it. Will Mr. Bruton tease out the revocation process? That is really important.

On page eight, Mr. Bruton states that "Some have argued that if Ireland is inside the EU and the UK is out of it, a special "bespoke deal" for the island of Ireland, or for the UK and Ireland, could be envisaged". He says "I do not see how this could work as far as trading standards and tariffs are concerned." He goes on to explain that, but he might tease it out for us.

In concluding I again thank Mr. Bruton. The big message for us all in this forum is that we must make this Brexit message very simple. Yesterday, we saw Donald Trump's new arrangements for taxation. There are huge, enormous challenges facing the island of Ireland as regards the economy and our new road to recovery. These times present major challenges for us and they are not unlinked. They are all interconnected. I thank Mr. Bruton for his very comprehensive paper. I would appreciate it if he would touch on some of the issues I have raised.