Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. What he said is good to hear. He has outlined a clearer position than that outlined by the Taoiseach. I thank the Minister for that.

On contingency planning, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Mr. James Brokenshire, went to Brussels last week and said that the British Government does not support and will not seek any form of special or unique status for Northern Ireland. Mr. Brokenshire said that the UK wants convergence in animal health regulations but, at their core, his comments were, as I am sure the Minister will agree, quite negative and fell well short of addressing the issues as laid out by the Minister in respect of full regulatory equivalence and the concerns of businesses on both sides of the Border.

Fianna Fáil supports the Minister's call for a multi-year transition period but there are 498 days left and we have Monsieur Barnier and the BBC warning of collapse in the talks. All year the Government has promised to publish detailed sector by sector plans, including contingency for a hard Brexit. Now we will have to include contingency for a no-deal scenario and a disorderly Brexit. I cannot get any answer from the Taoiseach as to where these plans are or when they will be published. Plans such as these would bring comfort to, or at least engagement on the part of, various businesses regarding what sort of contingency planning and Government supports are in place. Will the Minister indicate when we and, more importantly, the agrifood sector, farmers and the tourism and transport industries will see these detailed sector-by-sector plans, including the contingency plans?

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