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

The support of other EU members for Ireland is something built on a lengthy tradition of diplomatic engagement at many levels, a point which the Taoiseach's predecessor, Deputy Enda Kenny, made in the year after the Brexit referendum. It has been demonstrated in support for Ireland in negotiating guidelines. Any engagement with partners is particularly welcome but we need to understand the strategy and what is specifically being promoted. I suggest that in the coming weeks and months, the primary focus will remain the trilateral discussion between London, Dublin and Brussels. We are clearly represented by Mr. Barnier in the negotiations but the role of commentators on the sidelines is not an option for us.

Will the Taoiseach outline what arrangements he will make to avoid a relapse into the dysfunction evident earlier this year, which saw the Taoiseach go seven weeks without speaking with the British Prime Minister, an unprecedented gap in recent times? Did the Taoiseach meet or have discussions with Mr. Viktor Orbán about the migration issue? I have seen commentary to the effect that the Taoiseach finds it acceptable that Hungary does not want other people entering its jurisdiction and that it should just be for Hungarians. If every country in Europe adopted that philosophy, there would be one hell of a migration crisis. There is also the matter of Mr. Orbán's approach to media and European democratic norms, which leaves much to be desired. I am surprised at the degree to which he is being accommodated and facilitated, both by the European People's Party - of which Fine Gael is a member - and the broader European Union. No more than Britain's membership of the Single Market, this applies to core values of the European Union, which are steadily being eroded by certain political elements.

See this speech in context