Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I assure the Deputy that I have no intention of standing for the return of a hard border; neither does the British Prime Minister. I am not sure from where the Deputy got the view that my position on the issue had softened. I have made my position very clear and do so again now.

On the appointment of a personal envoy, I did give consideration to appointing a Minister with responsibility for dealing with Brexit.

Every Minister and Minister of State has a responsibility because they are all tied up in it one way or the other. While the Cabinet committee I chair generally comprises senior Ministers, they will all be called because they all have a responsibility. That is why I have asked all of them to have intensive discussions with their counterparts in the context of the forthcoming North-South Ministerial Council in order that we can get a fix on this issue. The majority of our personnel in Brussels who conducted the Presidency at the start of 2013 are still there. We will have access to the negotiations and discussions taking place and will know what is happening.

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