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

It is fair to say that over the past week there has been a mounting lack of clarity on Brexit talks and what we are looking for. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, in very different unscripted ways, have now said the customs partnership model proposed by the United Kingdom may provide the basis for a deal. This is 100% contradictory to previous briefings and public statements. Will the Taoiseach clarify what he means by this? As things stand, the European Union negotiators have said any customs partnership is a non-runner for technical and policy reasons and that it does not address the impact of the United Kingdom being outside the Single Market. Instead of giving us his commentary on the internal issues and the mess within the British Government, will the Taoiseach tell us what he sees in the customs partnership that provides a basis for reaching a final agreement?

Over the past two weeks, in here and outside, I have asked the Taoiseach repeatedly if he will explain whether his statement that letting key decisions run until October is of no great concern is still his policy. How does he reconcile this with more recent statements, which suggest he sees talks stalling if major progress is not agreed in June? Of course, this raises the ultimate question, which I have asked before. Will the Taoiseach explain to us what minimum progress there has to be in June for talks to proceed? Can we define what we mean by minimum progress? The east-west relationship is extremely important economically, and we need far more flesh on the bone and far greater clarity about our objectives than we have had to date.

See this speech in context