Michael Harty (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It allocated 21 months for the transition period. If the withdrawal agreement is ratified, that will not happen until after Christmas. The transition period has been reduced from 21 months to ten or less. Would it not be logical to extend it way beyond 2020 purely for the pragmatic reason that it will take a long time to finalise the future arrangements? Do our guests feel that it may not necessarily be extended? This is a political question but it does not make any sense to have a transition period of nine or ten months, or even less.