Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Next Tuesday, I will bring a memo to the Government. On Wednesday, I expect to make a statement on Brexit. I will follow it with the second all-island forum on the Friday. I have said very clearly that I do not want the Border to be as it was. I have very deliberately and clearly told this to the Prime Minister. The situation arose due to a vote by the UK electorate. We should take note of a matter I discussed with the Prime Minister here and since, given that the position is as yet unclear arising from the Prime Minister's statement at Lancaster House. She said:

I do not want Britain to be part of the common commercial policy and I do not want us to be bound by the common external tariff.

These are the elements of the customs union that prevent us from striking our own comprehensive trade agreements with other countries. But I do want us to have a customs agreement with the EU.

[Here is the important point] Whether that means we must reach a completely new customs agreement, become an associate member of the customs union in some way, or remain a signatory to some elements of it, I hold no preconceived position. I have an open mind on how we do it. It is not the means that matter, but the ends.

And those ends are clear: I want to remove as many barriers to trade as possible.

Until this issue becomes clear, it is difficult to assess what the outcome might be. I do not want to see personnel with caps enforcing Border controls outside Dundalk or Newry. I have said it would carry very negative consequences for the country. When the Prime Minister writes her letter to the European Commission on Article 50, I expect this element will be sorted out.

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