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

I heard the Minister of State part answering some of the questions I raised earlier. Unfortunately, I had to leave, but, if I heard him correctly, he said a collaborative space around future deals would come after the Brexit divorce negotiations. Do we have flexibility on that given that it seems to me it is not in our interests to have that long, drawn-out, uncertain process? It is not in our interests to have a broken-down deal. Is it possible for us to bring forward some of those new ballot arrangements, which can revitalise Europe in standing up for social, environmental and business standards? I was interested to hear the Minister of State intimate that those sort of arrangements would be subject to Dáil approval whereas the other Brexit arrangements might not. Can he articulate exactly how he sees that happening and if it is possible to bring those talks in to run concurrently with the more difficult divorce proceedings?

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