Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Last December when the joint report of the EU and British Government negotiators was published, the Taoiseach hailed it as a panacea for all of Brexit's ills. He said at the time that it "achieved what we sought to achieve" in avoiding a hard border. He also said it was not only rock solid but "cast iron." He claimed that it was politically bulletproof. His language was such that very many people took him at his word, but we, in Sinn Féin, urged caution at the time. We urged the Taoiseach not to oversell the achievement. Our caution was well placed because shortly after the December announcement the British Government rowed back and it has been rowing back on its commitments ever since. The bottom line and the need to mitigate the effects of Brexit are well known: no hardening of the Border on the island, no undermining of the Good Friday Agreement and no loss of citizens' rights.

The so-called backstop arrangement is supposed to be our guarantee and insurance policy that there will be no hard border on the island and the interests of our citizens will be protected. I am sure the Taoiseach agrees that those protections remain vital. The consequences of Brexit are real. They are a threat to our social and political fabric and economy, North and South. They are real, lasting and enduring threats. Brexit is for keeps.

To combat those real and enduring consequences, we need a solution to match, one that is not time bound or temporary, not couched in ifs, buts or conditions, but is an absolute and permanent guarantee. I thought that was clearly understood by all of us in this House. I thought that was the Taoiseach's position. There cannot be any fudging on that. A temporary or transitory backstop is not a backstop at all. Temporary protections mean no protection. Answers for our country need to be real. Enduring Brexit is not compatible with the Good Friday Agreement and we need a unique, bespoke solution for our island.

Yesterday when the Taoiseach said he was willing to consider proposals for a review clause for the backstop, he shifted position. It is not a matter of nuance, but a substantial and reckless change in position by the Government at this most sensitive time in the negotiation. The Taoiseach's announcement yesterday was a cock-up, plain and simple, and I ask him to clarify the position of his Government and invite him to set aside any notion or proposal of a review clause in what is to be our insurance policy in the face of Brexit.

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