Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

By definition, we must be somewhat circumspect about the issue, as I am sure Deputy Murphy will understand. There is intensive ongoing engagement between the rail operators, Irish Rail and Northern Irish Railways, which have always had a contract with each other. They are still in communication on the basis of that contract and they are considering a subcontracted solution on a temporary basis to overcome any temporary difficulties. We anticipate an agreement will be reached and that there will be a bilateral agreement after 29 March. It is a matter of keeping Enterprise and bus services going, and we will do everything we can to achieve that. We do not foresee any insuperable obstacles but we recognise that there are difficulties. That is why we are talking to stakeholders, which are currently Irish Rail and Northern Irish Railways, but everybody else will be involved under the legislation we addressed earlier, including the NTA as a regulator and the Minister for Finance, who will also make some regulations. Furthermore, Departments, North and South, are in discussion, although it is important to make clear that they are not negotiating. There is no negotiation taking place but rather there is a contract.

On the question about insurance and the green card, the UK currently comes within the ambit of the EU motor insurance directive, which allows all motor vehicles from member states to travel within the Union without carrying special documentation to prove that they have insurance. If there is a no-deal Brexit, Irish-registered vehicles entering UK territory, including Northern Ireland, will be required to carry a green card, a document which proves that they have motor insurance. Similarly, UK citizens wishing to take their UK-registered motor vehicles into Ireland will also require a green card. In preparation for the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland, MIBI, and the motor insurance firms in the State have been preparing for the issuing of green cards on request from an as yet unspecified date in March. The MIBI has issued public statements to this effect and the Association of British Insurers has issued similar public information. It is a prudent measure; while no one wants green cards to be required, the insurance industry needs to be prepared for the possibility that they will be.