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

I do not think the Taoiseach responded to my question. Basically, the Article 50 process will begin tomorrow and it is absolutely clear that we are not prepared for it. I accept that there has been a lot of activity but there is no public evidence that we have detailed proposals or have made preparations for different possible outcomes. I welcome Mr. Barnier's mention of the parity he intends to give to Northern Ireland but that is just one of many issues with which we must deal.

The British Government has accepted that Brexit will involve an enormous legislative workload. I noted last week that the UK Government is now grappling with the fact that it may not have enough personnel or capacity to deal with the huge legislative impact, particularly in terms of EU-UK agreements. If, for example, we get a deal on the common travel area, it is inevitable that we will need legislation to copperfasten that. If we get a reciprocal deal relating to access to education and health services, which is what the common travel area is all about, namely, a seamless interaction in services right across the board between the UK and Ireland, we will need legislation for that. What arrangements are in place to begin preparing the relevant measures? Given that there is already a backlog of legislation, how does the Government propose that this extra challenge be met? I ask the Taoiseach to comment on that.

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