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

The Taoiseach is letting himself down with the asinine comments he made both last week and today on Fianna Fáil's position on Brexit. He was present when I gave my speech at the All-Island Civil Dialogue. I spoke at Cambridge at the British-Irish Association meeting in the presence of the Taoiseach's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Simon Coveney. I have been very serious and constructive about Brexit. The Taoiseach should ask his predecessor, Deputy Enda Kenny, how constructive I have been on Brexit since it was voted for. I have been serious about wearing the green jersey for Ireland. Our clear position has always been to have a special economic zone on the island of Ireland to ensure full trade and no border. Treating Question Time like some smart-ass university debate is not doing justice to the seriousness of the issue. The Taoiseach said at the outset in answering me that we should engage in contingency planning and that everybody should prepare for worst-case scenarios. The Revenue Commissioners did their work. I was not raising the Revenue Commissioners today. They did serious work. In my humble opinion, it was work that should have been shared with people. I see no rationale as to why it would not have been shared with people. It could have informed public debate, not to become a self-fulfilling prophesy but to warn those affected, including those in SMEs in Ireland and Britain, about the horrendous impact of what Brexit will mean for them in their daily lives, economically and in terms of jobs, for example. It would have been advantageous to public debate. Lest there be any doubt - it is one thing for Sinn Féin to try to distort the truth but I suggest it is something different for the Taoiseach to try to do so - our position has been very consistent, from the referendum onwards, in terms of avoiding a hard border in Ireland. That is why we are putting forward the propositions in all seriousness. I ask the Taoiseach to acknowledge that.

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