David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

While I do not have any difficulty with the Tánaiste carrying out business in the North, when a Deputy requests statements and is asked to submit a Topical Issue instead, he or she expects the Minister to be available. We could have had this discussion with the Minister tomorrow or next week. Notwithstanding that, the Minister of State is correct that the backstop is workable. Sinn Féin called for special status for the North in order to keep it in the customs union and the Single Market and to protect the Good Friday Agreement.

It is important that the Government does not overstate or hype the position set out by the British Government. The British Prime Minister stated that the legal text produced by the European Union is out as no British Prime Minister could sign up to it because it would mean a border in the Irish Sea. The agreement also states that the goods covered by full alignment will be listed, which means some good will not be covered, for example, all services. Only areas connected with North-South co-operation and those that fall under the Good Friday Agreement will be covered by full alignment. The goods and services that will not be covered must be subject to checks, which will mean a hardening of the Border. A backstop is the bare minimum required and, even at that, it will create difficulties. Despite this, there is still no agreement on it.

With respect, the British Prime Minister stated that "a" protocol, as opposed to "the" protocol, would be agreed. As the Minister of State knows, there is a significant difference between the words "the" and "a".

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