Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Verhofstadt for his contribution. I have no doubt about the stupidity and, frankly, obnoxiousness of the Tory position when it comes to the negotiations about Britain's exit from the EU. I am thinking particularly of its anti-immigrant policies. Given that the EU insisted on the cruel punishment of our citizens for the banking collapse, can we take Mr. Verhofstadt seriously when he says that the EU will not allow Ireland to be punished for Britain's decision to leave the EU? For example, the EU insisted on the imposition of dreadful austerity on our citizens for things that were not their responsibility. Given that the EU insists on borders of steel, barbed wire and police camps enforced by Frontex in order to keep out tens of thousands of desperate refugees who are fleeing warzones like Syria, can we take Mr. Verhofstadt seriously when he says noble things about the EU not believing in borders and wanting to reduce borders to lines on maps? If the EU is willing to do this to desperate and vulnerable people, some of whom are drowning in the Mediterranean as a result, how can we take seriously Mr. Verhofstadt's pledge to try not to impose borders here? What Britain decides to do is one thing, but I would like to hear an absolute guarantee that the EU will not insist on some sort of border in order to protect its Single Market. If we were to get such a commitment from Mr. Verhofstadt, we could deal with Britain and the problems it is imposing.

Can he give us that guarantee? Can we give credibility to his assertions about not believing in borders, given his insistence on imposing them in a very cruel way in other parts of the European Union?