Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. We are all lined up in the context of what we want to see happen. Obviously, we would like to see the UK stay in the Single Market and the customs union. There is cross-party support for no controls or borders of any kind being put in place around the Six Counties. The Taoiseach said, "I am now of the view that it is likely we will be able to say that sufficient progress has been made at the December meeting". These communications are causing real concern. We met with business people from both sides of the Border yesterday. A transport businessman from Antrim told us that if phase two happens without the Border being conclusively sorted - not as in "good faith" but still with a reasonably high level of aspirations statements around regulatory equivalences and so on - he is going to move his business out of Northern Ireland. I appreciate that the Minister is doing everything he can but there is a gap in communications. I am of the view that the Taoiseach misspoke. I do not believe that sufficient progress has been made. I do not imagine that a lot more was done. The Minister has not laid out what progress has been made since the October statement and the statement last week. The Taoiseach probably misspoke. We need to be very careful. The Government needs to be very careful about the messages it is sending out in respect of the Border because business people are watching. The Taoiseach's comments were carried internationally across several news outlets. We need to be very careful about the messages we send out to people on both sides of the Border who are having to make decisions about what is likely to happen to their businesses and their communities in the coming months and years.

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