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

I have two questions in this group. We spent some time on this yesterday and we had a debate on Brexit. Will the Taoiseach elaborate on a question I asked? Will he seek an explicit reference to the continued EU citizenship of Northern Ireland residents post-2019 in the Union's negotiation instructions? This has implications far beyond what would happen if there was reunification. The German unification which the Taoiseach referenced yesterday involved the creation of new EU citizens. In this case, we are talking about people who today are EU citizens and we want their continued rights to that citizenship protected. That has many practical implications for the negotiations, including freedom of residence in the Union and guaranteeing access to services. Will the Taoiseach propose an amendment in the draft negotiating guidelines to include an explicit reference to the continued EU citizenship of residents of Northern Ireland?

With regard to the consolidated paper, what are the key areas that need to be addressed? Has the Taoiseach pursued special status and a special trading zone on this island? Will the paper detail the Government's approach to key issues such as trade between the island of Ireland and the UK in a post-Brexit scenario where there could be tariffs and where Britain could be outside the customs union?

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