Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy raises two issues. First, regarding the Northern Ireland Executive, on behalf of the Irish Government, I look forward to being in Stormont on or around Monday, 12 June, in order to ensure there will be an appropriate level of momentum in the talks. There has not been a functioning executive in Northern Ireland this year. I believe it is long overdue and I believe there is a role and function particularly for the parties that have been elected to the Assembly to ensure we have a full work-out of the institutions. I believe that with the appropriate level of political will, that can happen before the statutory deadline of 29 June.

Regarding the second point, I reassure Deputy Smith that the Government has made clear our commitment to minimise the impact of Brexit on the Border region in particular. I do not accept what the British Prime Minister repeated again last night, that no deal is better than a bad deal. I believe it is fundamental to the process that both the European Union, of which Ireland will continue to be a member, and the UK negotiating team come to the table in a spirit of goodwill in order to do a deal. We are committed to ensuring that there will be no impediment to movement on the island of Ireland and that the withdrawal agreement will in no way create circumstances which will undermine the peace process and the normalisation it has brought to people's lives, as the Deputies, particularly those from the Cavan-Monaghan constituency, will be aware.

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