Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is a phrase "How long is a piece of string?", but, unfortunately, that cannot apply in this case because there is a deadline. The deadline is 31 December 2020, but that is not a true deadline because as the Deputy says, the agreement has to be translated. I understand that a large part of the agreement, 95%, is drafted and that there are place holders in terms of the outstanding issues that are well-rehearsed at this stage. The agreement will have to be translated and read by every national parliament and the European Parliament. The European Parliament will need to give its approval to it and, why not? They are our democratically-elected representatives. Even if that delays the process by a day or two, it is crucial we get that approval separate from the approval of the member states of the European Union. That is the time pressure. I am not in a position to give an exact date. There are many dates floating around but we are close to the wire now. All joking aside, it will lead us into a dangerous place if the negotiations are not concluded soon. While we have the Northern Ireland protocol - I am glad to say that implementation of that has picked up apace since September and the atmosphere at the talks on the EU-UK joint and specialised committees on the withdrawal agreement and the Northern Ireland protocol have been good and better in recent weeks and months - it would be preferable, even for the Northern Ireland protocol, to have the trade deal before the agreement with Britain and the European Union. It would make things a lot easier. Time is running out. As I said, I am not in a position to give the Deputy an exact timeline.