Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I made it clear during the week that, while I have respect for Arlene Foster, she is wrong on this issue. The Good Friday Agreement is not up for discussion or negotiation. It is a treaty which has been lodged with the UN. It was voted on by people across this island, North and South, and was endorsed with a very large majority in both jurisdictions. It has been the basis for peace for the past two decades. There have been updates to it, and agreements have been signed since it was agreed, but those agreements involved two Governments and negotiations between political parties. We have a clear commitment from the British Prime Minister that every facet of the Good Friday Agreement will be protected through the Brexit process, and we intend to ensure that commitment is followed through on. To the credit of the Prime Minister, she has repeated that commitment on more than one occasion.

The Good Friday Agreement, as a basis and a foundation for Irish relationships North and South, and relationships east and west, is something that we will insist on defending and protecting through the Brexit debates, as we have done to date.

See this speech in context