Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Last week, the Taoiseach once again showed a tendency to aggressively attack anyone who had the cheek to question him on Brexit and while he has been able to influence how parts of the media cover him, he seems to think that it is beneath him to answer legitimate questions being raised throughout Europe. It was rather pathetic that the Taoiseach resorted to using a silly Sinn Féin argument to attack Fianna Fáil on this issue, something which appears to reflect a growing level of comfort between those parties which they will deny but which has been on display here now for anyone to see in recent months.

The simple fact is that for a year the Government briefed that the negotiating strategy was to make sure that Ireland was not still being discussed when the last elements of the withdrawal treaty were being negotiated. This was, we were told, to ensure that we did not face pressures to accept a deal in the face of a cliff-edge, as Deputy Haughey has pointed out. It is equally undeniable that the Taoiseach's statement that he was fine with waiting until October for a deal represents a significant change in strategy. The Taoiseach can claim that it is the right approach but he cannot deny that it is a significant change and that Deputy Donnelly and others have every right to ask him and the Government to explain why this change has come about. If our interpretation is wrong, can the Taoiseach tell us why the British Prime Minister, Mrs. May, stated yesterday in the House of Commons that the pressure is on the European Union to make the United Kingdom a better overall deal in order to avoid a hard border, and, if it is wrong, why did the British Prime Minister reaffirm that she will not accept the draft backstop text?

In light of the Taoiseach's claim that there is no problem going on to October and that only partisan opponents doubt this, perhaps he will comment on the following quote from the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Coveney, yesterday, as reported by the BBC: "If we don't have it done by June, then I think obviously, we have to raise some serious questions as to whether it is possible to finalise a withdrawal treaty at all." This is close to what Deputy Donnelly said last week. Is the Tánaiste wrong to say that letting it drift to October causes us problems?

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