Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach had the opportunity to discuss the future of Europe informally. Although he said the discussions were not in-depth, I presume they included Brexit and so on. We will have the chance to deal with the European Council summit and will have statements on it today.

I picked up on what Commissioner Phil Hogan said, namely, that it is clear that the British Government is not going to propose workable solutions for the benefit of the people of the island. We have said this repeatedly. The focus of the British Government is firmly on what it sees as its national interest. The Commissioner said he was disheartened by the low priority afforded to the Border by Mrs. May's Government. It was clear at the time of the summit that the Commissioner had concerns. Does the Taoiseach share them? Has he raised any of these issues in the informal discussions he had with other European leaders?

I refer in particular to the British Government's rejection of the European Court of Justice, which has been a long-standing position of the Tory Party. It is opposed to the European Convention on Human Rights. That tears at the very heart of the Good Friday Agreement, of which the Taoiseach's Government is a co-guarantor.

I refer to the Taoiseach's remarks on the BBC yesterday about any future unity referendum. They were most unhelpful. The Agreement is very clear on all these matters and the Taoiseach, as a co-guarantor, should not cherry-pick. Of course, we want to get the maximum level of agreement in any future referendum but the Taoiseach has a legal and moral responsibility to uphold the letter and spirit of all of the measures contained in the Agreement which was voted for by the people of the island, North and South.

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