Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach says we will not have a hard border, but he does not tell us how he will prevent it from coming about. The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Leo Varadkar, has rightly pointed out that there should be no economic border at all between the North and the South. Can the Taoiseach not say that? The Minister said we should advocate for the North to stay in the customs union and the Single Market and that any customs checks should be at ports and airports, not at land borders. He pointed out that most people in the North had voted to remain, as did most of the MLAs elected to the new Assembly. Can the Taoiseach not say that? He knows that Sinn Féin's resolve is to get the institutions back in place as quickly and as soon as possible. If the Border becomes a land border between the European Union and the non-European Union, there will be tariffs and customs checks along the Border and divisions on the island will deepen. However, the Taoiseach has yet to say this should not happen and point out why. He has yet to make it a negotiating priority. I invite him to do so now. Having heard the Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar's position, does he happen to know what the position of the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Simon Coveney, is?

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