Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Second, we need a commitment that the Good Friday Agreement will remain paramount. Third, the Government should seek a veto to ensure no agreement between the EU and Britain may apply to the North of Ireland without the agreement of Ireland and Britain first. That is similar to what has been achieved by the Spanish Government. The European Union should also recognise that other existing bilateral agreements and arrangements between Ireland and Britain which were compatible with EU law would remain.

The reality is that the Government needs to get serious about this issue. It needs to get very serious about the issue of Brexit. We all know that Brexit poses a major threat to Ireland, North and South. At the moment, the Taoiseach and his Government, his Ministers, are asleep at the wheel. The challenge posed by Brexit must be met with the urgency and with the strategic vision it demands. The approach I have outlined represents a logical strategy for representing national interests of the whole island of Ireland. This must be the goal of the Taoiseach and the Government. Special status will ensure that the whole island of Ireland can remain within the EU together. I urge the Taoiseach to make these points at the European Council meeting on 29 April.

I note that in the Taoiseach's opening statement - in his first sentence - he speaks about the meeting of the European Council in Brussels. Yesterday when I challenged him on the issue, he denied that a European Council meeting was taking place at all-----

See this speech in context