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

This group of questions deals with the European Union specifically and I will focus on the Brexit negotiations while dealing with the Northern Ireland matters in the next group of questions. Following the Taoiseach's error at the previous summit, when he said that letting the negotiations slip to October was okay by him, we had a couple of months' worth of statements from the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste indicating that a failure to agree a backstop text in June would be a major problem. On 28 March, for example, when he was sent out to clean up after the Taoiseach's comments, the Tánaiste said that any failure to agree the text in June would raise "very serious questions" as to whether any deal was possible. They were the Tánaiste's comments some months ago on the importance of the June deadline. The Taoiseach was asked about this by me repeatedly during Question Time and he repeated that a failure to meet the June deadline would be a very ominous sign.

When the British Government revealed its plan, the Taoiseach welcomed it as important progress but it has now been formally rejected by the European Union. It is reported this morning that yesterday the line changed again and the Taoiseach has said that October was always been the deadline and we should not be too worried. I believe the Taoiseach is familiar with "The Thick of It" and in that programme, this was called a "reverse ferret". It is the changing of a position without acknowledging the position that has just been abandoned. Given all the statements from the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste that the backstop, as defined by them, was watertight and that a failure to hit a June deadline would mark serious trouble, will the Taoiseach say if it is still his view that the backstop is watertight and the negotiations concerning Ireland are in serious trouble?

From the very start it was stated that a fundamental objective for Ireland was that the Irish issue would not still be in question when the final withdrawal text was being discussed. We have not now achieved this. Will the Taoiseach explain how he expects us to get from today's blockage to a breakthrough that delivers for Ireland? Mr. Michel Barnier has restated his demand that a Northern Ireland-specific proposal be tabled. Is the Taoiseach proposing to take any initiative on this or will the position remain that the United Kingdom alone should do what it has so far been incapable of doing, which is to propose a credible mechanism for delivering a soft border?

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