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

The Deputy can be assured that Brexit is very much at the top of the Government's agenda. We had a detailed discussion on Brexit contingency planning and Brexit planning at our Cabinet meeting this morning. As the Deputy served well and successfully in government for a period, he knows that if it was as simple as turning up at an EU summit to sort it all out, I would have done that a long time ago. What is required here is in agreement. That requires a negotiation and both parties, the EU on the one side, including Ireland, and UK on the other, to come to an agreement.

The Salzburg Summit is an informal meeting of the EU Heads of State and Government. Accordingly, no decisions will be made at that. However, we will use the summit as an opportunity to discuss Brexit. We will meet in Article 50 format. The UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, will give a presentation. She will then leave the room while the other 27 will discuss our approach. I do not anticipate there will be any change to the EU's position or to our negotiating guidelines.

While I do not want to give a running commentary of the negotiations, as it would not be in Ireland's interests, some of what the Deputy has read in the British newspapers, particularly the British-owned newspapers, are very far off the mark when it comes to the reality of what is going on in these negotiations.

The draft withdrawal agreement provides for what we need, namely, protection of the common travel area, a transition period to allow business and others to adjust to any permanent changes in trade which may take place, guarantees on citizens' rights, particularly for people in Northern Ireland, and also the backstop. This insurance policy of the backstop, which we hope to never have to use, guarantees us that there will be no hard border on the island of Ireland. These remain our objectives and that is what we will negotiate towards.

On the common travel area, it is specifically stated in the withdrawal agreement that it will stay in place and that it will be a bilateral matter between Britain and Ireland. It will continue to allow our citizens to live, study, work, as well as access healthcare, housing, education, in each other's countries as though we are citizens of both. That arrangement has been in place for a long time. Both the UK Government and Irish Government want that to stay in place. That forms part of the withdrawal agreement.

See this speech in context