Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Some of my questions are similar. Between what parties are the bilateral agreements taking place? The Minister said in his opening statement that Ireland will begin formal negotiations on a bus bilateral with the UK. That suggests there have been informal negotiations. We are acutely aware that the institutions in Northern Ireland are not in place. Has that been an issue? I presume there were informal bilateral meetings. Were those meetings with British Government Ministers as opposed to their Northern Ireland counterparts? I do not see how that will work. Has that been thought about in considerations of the transition period, assuming that there is a withdrawal agreement?

The Minister referred to stakeholders in his opening statement. This is relevant in drilling down and anticipating the issues. Were the stakeholders that were consulted exclusively in the Republic of Ireland or were Northern Ireland stakeholders consulted as well? How did this happen?

To add to the point made by Deputy Troy about goods and whether this covers the totality of what the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport will be required to cover in this legislation, do goods come under a different Department or Departments and are there other transport elements? As I find it hard to imagine there are no transport elements, should we expect to see further legislation or an expansion of this legislation? It is very difficult to read about Northern Ireland being a third country. It brings the enormity of the issue into very sharp focus when one sees in black and white how gigantic the separation will be.