David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want the Taoiseach and his Government to succeed. I want the best possible outcome for the people of this island. The concerns I have are concerns which are shared and have been expressed by many people. The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan, said last week that a border on the island of Ireland is inevitable if Britain leaves the customs union. I agree with that. The EU negotiator Sabine Weyand said that meeting commitments on the all-island economy would imply that the North effectively remains within the customs union and the Single Market. Michel Barnier has said exactly the same, that is, without a customs union and being outside the Single Market will mean barriers to trade in goods and services are unavoidable. If the North is taken out of the customs union and Single Market, we will see a hardening of the Border irrespective of whatever backdrop agreement the Taoiseach believes he has in place. It simply will not be good enough and will fall far short of what is necessary to make sure that we do not have that hardening of the Border.

The Taoiseach knows that the issue of the Border is about more than trade. While trade is important, it is also about the peace process. It is deeply political. We want to ensure the Good Friday Agreement is protected in all its parts. We are trying to so do in respect of talks in the North, as the Taoiseach knows, and we want the same outcome in terms of the negotiations.

Does the Taoiseach accept that the North needs to stay in the customs union and Single Market? Does he accept that nothing short of that is required to ensure the best possible outcome for the people of this island?

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