Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

It goes without saying that we cannot trust the Tory right - the Tory Brexiteers - in terms of the consequences of, and negotiations around, the British exit for obvious reasons. We have always said that we do not necessarily trust the EU to look after Irish interests on the issue of the Border if those negotiations do not go well but the Taoiseach has always said that we will not accept any hard border. While that reassurance is welcome, is there a contradiction in his references to the recruitment of customs officials and his statement that we will not accept a hard border because the former would appear to suggest that the State is preparing to erect trade and customs barriers? Can he give us an assurance that those customs officials will not be deployed at any point along the Border, regardless of what happens, or what deals do or do not happen, between Europe and Britain? While I do not trust the Tory Brexiteers, I also do not trust the EU to not insist on a border to protect the Single Market, which would be unacceptable. Can the Taoiseach gave us an assurance that the State will not deploy customs officials along the Border between the North and South?

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