Mr. Bertie Ahern:

As I said earlier, most businesses are broadly happy with the protocol. There are issues of implementation and I have talked to some CEOs who say it is still cumbersome and that there is too much form filling and too many delays. They are more worried about the delays than the form filling, which is done online and does not take that long. There are delays with products. I do not want to mention names but some of the big companies that would be known to all of us and whose products would be in all of our houses say there are difficulties. They are reluctant to get involved in the debate. They see advantages and disadvantages but they do not want to play those.

I have not met anybody in Northern Ireland who is involved or who works in business and who has told me that he or she wants to leave the Single Market. I have asked the strongest of unionists whether, following their line, they wished to leave the Single Market and I have yet to find one who wishes to do so. We have been dealing with this matter for a good few years.

An agreement will have to be found with regard to the EU-UK customs agreement. We are not involved in the detail of these things. I do not wish to simplify the matter, but it seems that the red lane or express lane or whatever one calls it, is the way of dealing with it, and it looks as though the EU is up for that. How does one deal with the companies and allow people in? The term those involved like to use is "trusted traders". If people are in the category of being trusted traders between the UK and Northern Ireland, there are only checks.

There were always checks. I hate this argument about checks. There have been checks since 100 years ago on health, hygiene and security grounds. I hear some people in the North say there cannot be any checks. If somebody thinks there is a whole load of drugs or explosives in a box, will the box not be checked? Let us be real. Checks have always happened. They happen everywhere in the world. Even banana republics check things when they think there is a risk. It is not an argument.

The parameters have to be worked out. There are higher risks with regard to the sanitary and phytosanitary, SPS, risks. They are not as easy to solve some of those things. However, I think the EU is happy to have a broad definition of retailers and to extend the definition of "trusted traders". I am nearly certain, from the conference hosted by Barry Andrews, which all the parties attended, that the EU said it would be prepared to go for one form per shipment. Even doing that manually will not be too difficult. Most of the big companies are doing it by technology anyway. There is no form with that.

I am told the VAT issue is not a problem. State aids are more difficult. I am not sure what the solution is in that regard. I am not competent enough, but there are difficulties with state aids. The issue with SPS is that EU rules must apply. There is no way that the European Union will set aside its SPS standards for the British or any other individual country's standards. If it did, it would have war with every other country in Europe. EU standards are considered to be of the highest international standard and have been copied by many other parts of the world. There is no way it will drop or share those standards. We also know about the European Court of Justice issue. Those are the main issues.

I am sure that if the Cathaoirleach and a group of his colleagues were at this for a few days, these issues would be doable. We are not dealing with the impossible. It was far harder to negotiate parts of the Good Friday Agreement and many other things since than it will be to deal with these issues. If there is a will, there is a way. However, we have to leave a question mark in respect of that. I know that discussions have started again and that the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Taoiseach have been meeting the parties this week. I also know that the EU is trying to get proper meetings with the UK. Ongoing events are probably not helping that but I hope it will be able to do so.

Those are the areas around the solutions. Medicines are out of the protocol. The EU rules must be followed on the SPS issues. The definition of "retailer" is broad. Trusted traders are accepted. Red lines and express lanes should be agreed. That is where the solution lies, and the parameters relating to it are fairly clear. I have been across this stuff for six years. I do not think the task is insurmountable if people wish to solve the matter.