Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As a former member of the Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil, FCÁ, I am fiercely proud of my badge. My services were never called upon, thankfully. The one admission I will make to the Chief of Staff is that the boots were used for a lot of farming down in Kerry. If there are any recriminations, I am willing to face disciplinary hearings, of which I had a number recently.

I pay tribute to the Defence Forces. I am a member of Oireachtas all-party consultation group on commemorations for the decade of centenaries. The Defence Forces played a major role in preparation for that. I also want to highlight the role of the Defence Forces in visiting schools to present the flag to a generation that now understands its true meaning of peace between communities. This is a very important part of the decade of centenaries.

To address the business end of the Army, while I know the Chief of Staff may not wish to comment on political decisions, I will raise the proposals made by Germany and Europe since we joined the permanent structured co-operation, PESCO. The Germans and French have been looking for an EU army forever and a day. The issue of neutrality is one that concerns many citizens. The Defence Forces, like all Departments and all branches of the Government and State, put forward proposals regarding the consequences of Brexit. The position regarding the Border changes by the hour depending on what news bulletin one watches. Last night, there was great hope. With this morning's resignation from the British Cabinet, it looks like the proposed deal may not stick. The Defence Forces put forward proposals on the preparedness for and possible outcomes of Brexit, its long-term consequences and the possibility of the return of a hard border. The lesson of Brexit is that those in power should not hold a referendum and then tell everybody what the future will be like. That is the worst of bad planning. Britain is now suffering the consequences of not having a truthful engagement about the real outcomes of Brexit.

I suggest, as I have done on many previous occasions, that a Border poll here is the last thing we should do as one of the possible outcomes of Brexit. Theresa May has said it. Lady Sylvia Hermon, who is the unionist MP for North Down, has said she believes there will be a referendum in her lifetime. I have met some former members of the Defence Forces who have said they believe there will be a united Ireland in their lifetimes. My concern is that a hard border and a hard Brexit will accelerate that. As I have said, a referendum or Border poll is the last thing we need. All of the engagement and discussion-----