Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In response to Deputy Cullinane, we had set the date of 22 February in early January. I am comfortable that we can do this in time. If we introduce emergency legislation, it needs to be reasonably close to the emergency. If we had been doing this in November or December, it would have taken up a huge amount of parliamentary time. Many people might have predicted at that stage that we would have a lot more clarity by now. With the co-operation of others, I think we can get this done. The amount of legislation the UK will have to introduce in a no-deal scenario, or indeed even if there is a transition period agreed, is considerable. Even if the withdrawal agreement were signed off on in the morning, there would be a considerable number of weeks' work required in the British Parliament to bring in legislation.

On some of the bilateral arrangements around the common travel area and so on, we have worked very well with the British Government on trying to protect some core issues such as the Good Friday Agreement and all its complexity in the context of Brexit, the common travel area, cross-border healthcare and students. Without reciprocal arrangements on the British side, we would not be able to solve problems here. It is important to say that. While there is a lot of frustration across the EU and especially in Ireland that the Brexit issues do not have more clarity, in terms of some of this contingency planning there has been good co-operation.

On no-deal planning, if there is a no-deal and Britain crashes out, Ireland, Britain and the EU will have a very difficult job to manage the consequences in the context of the relationship between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Our view has always been that if there are no agreed solutions, the default position is regulatory alignment between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in the areas necessary to prevent physical border infrastructure, for good reason. That was agreed in December 2017, long before the withdrawal agreement was signed off. It was agreed that we would resolve the border issues through one of three ways. The first of these was a comprehensive future relationship and trade deal. If that was not possible, the UK would offer bespoke solutions to Ireland to solve this problem, presumably in the shape of some form of technology or other ideas. If there was no agreement on the capacity of that bespoke solution to do the job, the commitment was very clear in writing that the UK would maintain full alignment with the rules of the customs union and Single Market in the areas necessary to prevent border infrastructure and protect the peace agreement. That commitment was given in return for the EU and Ireland allowing the process to move on to talk about the future relationship, which had not really been discussed at that point. As far as I am concerned, those commitments still stand.

We cannot just wipe the slate clean and have people making farcical arguments along the lines of "we do not want a border, you do not want a border, the EU does not want a border so let's just pretend it is not a problem". That is kindergarten stuff. To be fair to the Prime Minister, I think she has faced down that kind of thinking. There needs to be a legally sound, practical solution here. If there are alternatives to the backstop, they should be explored and tested. They have been, for two years. The best solution that people could come up with in terms of a guarantee, fallback or insurance mechanism was the backstop. Even in the withdrawal agreement and the future relationship declaration, there is a mention of alternative arrangements. There is mention of the fact that the backstop is a temporary arrangement that can be replaced by alternative arrangements but they have to do the same job. We need to be honest with people. I have yet to see another approach that can do the same job unless we have a future relationship agreement and trading arrangement that is so comprehensive it does not require border infrastructure. We will continue to try to work in a constructive way on that issue.

Ministers will be available for briefing. We will probably bring Ministers in individually for Committee Stage in the Dáil so they can deal with their sections and take questions, potential amendments and so on. If they cannot be there, we can make sure they can provide briefings separately and I will take the legislation for them in the Dáil. I expect that the Ministers will be there. On the Enterprise Ireland issues, as I said, Enterprise Ireland wants these powers anyway. We have essentially plucked this element out of an industrial and commercial Bill and put it in the omnibus legislation because we want it done quickly so Enterprise Ireland has the maximum flexibility in terms of offering loans and support to businesses in some of the sectors that would be under a lot of strain if there was a no-deal Brexit. That is the only legislation that we would be introducing anyway but we would not be introducing it by the end of March. It would probably be a year or so away.

We cannot legislate for the insurance green card issue because it is an EU competence. I will read the note on that to put it on record. Currently, all Irish motor vehicles travelling within the EU are covered by the terms of the EU's motor insurance directive. This allows motor vehicles to travel freely between Ireland, Northern Ireland and Britain as well as across other EU countries. Should a no-deal Brexit occur, the UK, including Northern Ireland, will no longer be party to the motor insurance directive.

The Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland has published advice for policyholders on when and how to get a green card, if needed, in the event that there is a no-deal Brexit. Green cards provide proof of insurance and are part of an older system that pre-dates the European Union. Citizens driving their Irish registered vehicles in Northern Ireland or any other part of the United Kingdom will be required to carry a green card to prove that they have motor insurance. It is not that they will be stopped and asked for it, but if they are stopped, it is proof of insurance that will be accepted across the Border. The green card system does not affect motorists' cover. Where they are currently covered to drive in the United Kingdom, they will remain so under their policy.