Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

From the top, I have not spoken to President Juncker since the Chequers statement was issued. I anticipate that I will speak to him later this month when we have seen the White Paper.

As often said, the Chequers statement is three pages long while the White Paper, which we have yet to see, will be more than 100 pages long. Consequently, I would like to see, read and digest that before speaking to Prime Minister May and President Juncker again. However, I do anticipate that we will speak this month.

In regard to the European Single Market, the position of the European Union and the 27 member states that are remaining, including Ireland, is that the four freedoms are invisible, that is, the freedom of goods, freedom of services, freedom of labour and freedom of capital. It is not possible to cherry-pick and it would not be fair to other countries to allow any country to cherry-pick. I imagine if the United Kingdom was allowed to have àla cartemembership of the Single European Market, far-right, far-left and populist parties all over the EU would demand the same for those countries, and we would begin to see the breakup of the Single Market and the European Union. That is not in Ireland's interest and therefore, it is not something I can support.

There is also an increasingly blurred line between goods and services. A driverless car is a good, in that it is a car, but it only operates based on service provision, which is the guidance that allows that car to move around the place. For a long time, a phone has been both a good and a service. On its own, it is just a piece of metal and plastic. It is the services that make it work. Being able to strictly distinguish goods from services is becoming increasingly complicated.

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