Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is fair to say that there has been welcome reassurance from the European institutions that they understand the Border issue on this island and that it is unique in the context of the Brexit negotiations. There is no evident move to go beyond very broad generalities. British Prime Minister May has stated she wants a red, white and blue Brexit, which is not very reassuring to all those who do not share her British nationalist policies. Mr. Tony Connolly spoke about the Border issue on RTE last night and he is among the correspondents who have made the consistent point that there has been comment in Brussels about how Ireland has been successful in raising concerns but that so far we have not offered concrete solutions. For some reason, we have not finished an economic impact assessment. At this stage, I am concerned we are not offering the level of detail needed to guide negotiations to a good outcome.

The civil dialogue confirms that businesses on both sides of the Border are terrified of the impact of the new customs and trade regulations that are now inevitable. With regard to supply chains, queuing at Border crossings is not the issue but rather the paperwork and multiple duties. Mr. Connolly captured that well last night in discussing similar border issues in different parts of the EU. The only way we can realistically tackle that is with some form of special economic zone or customs zone to be established for Northern Ireland, or at the very least for Border counties. Is the Taoiseach proposing anything specific for the negotiations on these issues? Are there any required technical papers being prepared at this stage?

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