Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Did the Taoiseach talk to the First Minister? Did she not tell him that she is for Brexit and that she does not recognise the votes of the majority of the people in the North? The Taoiseach should recognise the majority vote of the people in the North. That is the crux of the matter. The Taoiseach says this is something our party can solve. It is the DUP that is taking this position, not Sinn Féin.

I stated previously the Taoiseach is not strategic enough and I am repeating that assertion. I note the remarks of the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, James Brokenshire. On 9 October he said there is a "high level of collaboration on a joint programme of work" between this State - that is to say, the Irish State - and Britain. He said, "We have put in place a range of measures to further combat illegal migration working closely with the Irish government". He also stated, "Our focus is to strengthen the external border of the common travel area [CTA], building on the strong collaboration with our Irish partners." In other words, the British Government is hoping to move the front line of immigration controls to Irish ports and airports to prevent illegal migration into the British state. This clearly is not feasible and I am not enamoured of the response of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to these claims.

Are such measures in place? Will the Taoiseach make a statement on this and update the Dáil on the dialogue between his officials and British officials? He should tell the Dáil now what is going on between his officials and the senior British officials and if these measures are in place.

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