Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is important to quote the Secretary of State, Mr. Brokenshire, fully. While he did say what the Deputy has outlined, he also said " ... we have made equally clear we are determined to find bespoke solutions to Northern Ireland's unique circumstances, not least as the only part of the UK to share a land border with an EU member state." There is a recognition from James Brokenshire that these are complex issues that need bespoke, unique and flexible solutions. We can all agree that we are not where we need to be in the context of those solutions.

The Deputy referred to contingency planning. Work in this regard is ongoing. The Deputy is asking for published, specific plans for certain outcomes. There are so many outcomes that are possible from Brexit right now that we could put all our resources into trying to develop responses to each of them. A great deal of detailed contingency planning needs to happen but our main focus has to be on getting the right outcome in the negotiations. This is where our focus lies. As the Deputy rightly stated, we must see to it that if the worst-case scenario were to happen, Ireland needs to ensure that it is not fundamentally caught out and that we have a plan which will kick in. We will have this, but it is not something we want to see happen. As I have said many times, we will contingency plan for the worst-case scenario but we will continue to negotiate to try to get the best possible outcome.

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