Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The referendum took place on 23 June. The Prime Minister was subsequently elected and she made it clear that it was her intention to move Article 50 by the end of March. In between those two points there was a lot of comment and discussion and there was lots of confusion because everybody wanted clarity as to what were the British Government's intentions. I welcome the statement today in that it brings that clarity into a number of areas. The Prime Minister said that Britain intends to leave the Single Market and she made references to the customs union. I have spoken to the Prime Minister on two occasions in the recent past and I did so again yesterday evening when I mentioned the issues that were of priority to us in Ireland - our citizens, our economy, our trade with both Northern Ireland and Britain, the Border, the common travel area and our future within the European Union.

This is the start of the process and Europe will have to respond to the statement by the Prime Minister today. In her comments she included the issues of importance which we discussed last night, in particular the common travel area, and stated her willingness to look at the most effective practical outcome of the Border situation. Once Article 50 is triggered there is a two-year period and this may not be concluded in that time. If it is not concluded there will have to be a process of transition. I discussed the election process that is in place in Northern Ireland and we do not have an idea of what the outcome of that will be. We will have statements on that subject later in that day.

The Deputy asked about applications for assistance from Europe. A number of countries, including Ireland, mentioned these in the discussions we had at the European Councils but we could not make a definitive claim, application or proposition in this regard until the clarity that is now emerging was given by the British Prime Minister. Ireland will contribute strongly to these negotiations on the basis of being a member of the European Union and we will give the matter serious consideration because of the difficulties that will apply and the many economic reports that have indicated that Ireland will be one of the countries most adversely affected by a hard Brexit.

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