Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have concluded our contributions from members. I want to make a couple of points and to ask questions of the ambassador myself. I would be very interested to know where the process lies in terms of the UK moving on the historic EU legislation that is embedded within UK law. As he is aware, there was legislation effectively to scrap that and we know that has now been stepped back. It would seem to me that the indications of where the Government's thinking is on this is a key indicator on the extent of the building of alignment between the UK and the EU in the future. What are the benefits the British Government sees from having as close an alignment as possible to what is happening within the context of current and future EU legislation? That would be a clear indicator of where they see the relationship going.

I acknowledge that comments have been made on the Windsor Framework already. Given the trials and tribulations it caused for both countries, within the relationship with the European Union, it probably has provided a very good framework and path to how I would hope the future UK-EU relationship can be built in terms of both sides looking for how they can deepen and integrate bespoke solutions that would be of benefit to both. Something we have always been very clear on here in Ireland, as an EU member state and as a country that very much sees its future within that context, is that our relationship with the UK is critical on so many levels, and part of that strand is on trade. For many Irish businesses, there is still a lot of residual hangover from Brexit that affects them. I am trying to focus on that side in particular in regard to where the British Government sees that developments can take place and perhaps what it is looking for from the EU in terms of that space. We obviously cannot recreate the union. Perhaps we are not all in agreement, but everybody on this side of the water is in agreement about the awful shame of what happened in Brexit to what was effectively a perfect system for allowing trade between our two islands. How do we get as close to rebuilding that in the context of trade being an EU competency and obviously something that the UK Government wants to do, and I believe probably wants to do as a priority? I will ask the ambassador those two questions and come back to him.