Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I really would not have expected Chancellor Merkel to say anything different from what she said yesterday, but as a number of people acknowledged, things have moved on since then. Theresa May, MP, becomes British Prime Minister today. That change in Downing Street has moved more quickly than expected. She has said she will not consider triggering Article 50 until next year.

This is vitally important, in that as Prime Minister she is equal co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement. That is an international Agreement. We have been advocating for some time for the Taoiseach to enlist international support for it. Mrs. May has said that she wants to scrap the Human Rights Act, which is a fundamental cornerstone of the Agreement. She has also indicated that she wants to do away with other human rights aspects of it. Did the Taoiseach raise this with Chancellor Merkel? If he did, did he make it clear that the Irish Government will not countenance or tolerate any action by the British Government if it undermines the integrity of these international Agreements?

On Brexit, I met members of the East Border Region Group last week, which covers six council areas each side of the Border. All those involved, who secured almost €50 million in the last 16 years, are very concerned about up to 19 projects that are now threatened. When I raised this with the Taoiseach last week, he said it was a stalled process.

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