Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is true that we all await some clear understanding of what is the UK Government's position, but one thing the British Prime Minister did seem to make clear in her speech at the conference was that the UK Government post-Brexit would not recognise the Court of Justice of the European Union, CJEU, as a court of arbitration. In any of his discussions, informal or otherwise, with UK Ministers or officials, did the Minister of State get any sense of what the UK's intention is in that regard? For example, the Minister of State is au fait with the area of digital policy. The CJEU has, in effect, been acting as legislature in this area in the absence of clear legislation on complex issues around privacy and copyright. On all the complex digital policy issues, it is effectively the CJEU that has in a sense set the policy. We trade with the UK with people buying off the Internet all the time. If the UK will not recognise the CJEU's jurisdiction in digital services, what arbitration or jurisdiction might it use? Has it given any indication of what alternative court mechanisms it might have in mind following the comments of the British Prime Minister, Theresa May?

To take a second example, which is more directly applicable here at home, we are working on the development of an I-SEM, that is, an integrated single electricity market. The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, who is sitting beside the Minister of State, is working on it. How can we have an all-island electricity market if there is no final court of arbitration should there be a dispute? How could we prosecute someone in the North or have any such trade arrangements if we do not know what is the final arbitration system? I am keen to know if there has been any informal indication or sense from the UK authorities, if it is not going to recognise the CJEU, of what court system it will recognise. How can we trade with a nation where there is no arbitration process to determine disputes?

See this speech in context