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

Yes, and I have never moved away from my comments on that occasion. I am entitled to have hopes and dreams for this island too but I need to respect those of everybody else. I expect other people to respect mine and this is how we can all live together. Hopefully, it is how we can get through Brexit too.

On the omnibus Bill, we cannot do everything through national legislation. We can do a lot and we are doing a lot, and members will see what I mean by that when they see the legislation. A series of important issues are being dealt with by statutory instruments, where we do not need primary legislation. For other areas, the EU will have to introduce contingency measures, some of which will be legal while others will offer temporary facilitation. There is a competence issue and we cannot take on national competence in an area where we work through the EU.

In the legislation and the statutory instruments, the Senator will see the areas for which we can provide legislation to give protection. The UK has agreed to do what it needs to do in Westminster to complement what we are doing, because that is the only way we can protect Irish citizens in the UK and this shows people that the British and Irish Governments are trying to work together in practical areas. If members think we have missed something in the Bill, we have given over most of next week for a Second Stage debate and the following week for Committee and Report Stages. Members will find me very open to amendments which are justified, make sense and stack up. I do not want to pretend we own this legislation and, though I am sponsoring it as the Minister, nine other Government Ministers and their Departments are involved. It is not party political or policy driven but is about trying to protect the status quoas best we can in a no-deal scenario.