Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Has the Taoiseach spoken to the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, since the three-page Chequers statement was published by the UK Government? If so, has Mr. Junker imparted any view to him on that statement? The Taoiseach said on Monday that the UK must be in the Single Market in full or else stay out of it entirely. The Chequers agreement - if it can be called an agreement - between those members of the British Conservative Party present at Chequers on Friday, which is the document before us, speaks of an agreement that the UK would stay in a goods and agrifood market but not the full Single Market. Is the Taoiseach of the view that there is scope to negotiate that matter, or is his statement of Monday that the UK is either in the Single Market as we know it in its entirety or out of it in its entirety his definitive view? Most of us welcome the fact that there now is at least a grounding document which we can engage with, but I am still of the view I expressed yesterday - and I thank the Taoiseach for his positive consideration of it - that we need a legal text covering the backstop agreement that is acceptable so that when we go into the October discussions we are not bundling everything together.

Has the Taoiseach given further consideration to the notion of seeking to extricate the backstop agreement even if he needs to placate the UK authorities by saying that this is ar eagla na heagla, a complete backstop which probably will not be needed, but we need legal certainty around its terms which are agreeable to the UK?

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