Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for that response. We all hope he is right, because the backstop could be the last protection against border controls, which obviously nobody in this House wants to see, in common with most people on this island. I would like to ask a clarifying question and then move on to one or two other questions. When the Minister said that the backstop will be given legal effect in the withdrawal agreement, is that in answer to my question of whether it will be in a separate protocol? In other words, when he says it will be in the withdrawal agreement, is it therefore the case that it will not sit alongside the agreement in a separate protocol?

My second question regards sanctions and enforceability, because we all know what is likely to happen. There will be a legal text somewhere, be it in the protocol or the withdrawal agreement. Fianna Fáil's firm view is that it must be in the body of the main withdrawal agreement and not in a separate protocol. The UK is likely to engage in different tariffs, different regulatory issues, and put pressure on the Northern Border. It is likely that we will come to a stage where the EU rules that a certain measure cannot be introduced, because it would force it to put border controls around the Six Counties. The British government is likely to disagree, arguing that it has not imposed border controls so it has not infringed on anything. Obviously the UK will not sit within the legal jurisdiction of the EU. To what enforcement body is the Irish Government expecting to have recourse, and what types of sanctions will be available? Moreover, to repeat the clarification, is the Minister saying that the backstop will not be in a separate protocol?

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