Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. However, I am still deeply concerned that the Department does not have more plans to date on the specific issue I raised. If the country is not prepared for a hard Brexit there will be a devastating effect on Irish businesses, exporters and farmers. Unfortunately, I believe that is where we are heading. Businesses need to know what structures will be in place. We can no longer wait for the Tories and their partners in the DUP to come up with a solution. The state of that government is very worrying and is making a hard Brexit more likely. It is clear the Tories are so fractured they will be unable to come up with a solution by next October or March. Has the Minister considered increasing air and shipping capacity in the short term should a hard Brexit occur, by which I mean the State taking a role in providing extra capacity at a reasonable cost for businesses should the landbridge become unusable? In addition, is there an internal report entitled "Disorderly Brexit Contingency: executive summary paper" and, if so, what does it contain?

See this speech in context