Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

-----as I am sure will the woman Minister of State who is present. It is a disgrace and it is not acceptable anymore. I will object. I object when the Department of Finance comes in with an all-male team, suggesting that women do not know anything about finance and so on. It is just not acceptable at the Taoiseach's level given the amount of time he puts into planning his media communication.

The second point is as follows. The Taoiseach is quoted as saying yesterday that a comprehensive free-trade and customs agreement involving Britain and Ireland was the best way to avoid any new barriers north, south, east and west, and that they had agreed to work together. How realistic is that indication? It is a bit like the bulletproof agreement which now seems to be emerging with bullet holes. Have our 26 EU co-negotiators under the leadership of Monsieur Barnier agreed to this? Has the UK given any indication that it intends to agree to it and then pay the EU the price of such a deal?

I can understand why the Taoiseach would desire it strategically; it makes considerable sense. It would mean us having a separate negotiating strand in effect, something the Labour Party has advocated over a long period of time. We would be supportive of the Taoiseach in that. However, I agree with the points raised by Deputies Howlin and Micheál Martin that we need a debate in this House about the bulletproof agreement, which is now in the Taoiseach's own language opening up very wide discussion.

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