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

The Deputy has asked two very fair questions. I am not in a position to outline the position in respect of the British paper as it has not been published. It would be wrong to do so. It is the job of the British side to make a proposal. I hope it will not publish any proposal before it has been brought to the negotiating room in Brussels. The British and EU sides need to work together in that room to find a position that both of them can support. We are at the business end of these negotiations now. In my view, the negotiations need to make progress in the next two weeks - we are talking about next week or next weekend - before the General Affairs Council meeting, which I will attend, and the leaders' summit, which will be attended by the Taoiseach. Time is short. The focus now has to be on trying to close gaps between the two negotiating teams. If a British paper is part of that effort, it will be welcome. The most important thing is for the detail of that to be worked through by the negotiating teams, as opposed to it being published and essentially assessed by the wider community. We have to get down to the detail of an agreed position at this stage.

The Deputy also asked about my contacts with the unionist community. I was in a Presbyterian church in Belfast on Sunday to recognise Victoria Cross recipients from the First World War. I sat next to Jeffrey Donaldson, who made me feel very welcome. We had an opportunity to have brief discussions on some of the pressures and strains that clearly exist at present. They are linked to Brexit and to the lack of an Executive in Northern Ireland.

See this speech in context