Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In the context of the Taoiseach's discussions with Mrs. Arlene Foster, the issue of the maximum facilitation - “max fac” - which we discussed here and has been largely sidelined up to now, is being widely touted by Downing Street as being backup for consideration to appeal to Eurosceptics in the UK Houses of the Parliament, which includes a significant number of DUP members such as Mr. Nigel Dodds and Mr. Ian Paisley Jnr. There are no nationalist members in the Houses of the Parliament so we have only one set of voices there representing Northern Ireland, which at this historic time is a weakness in terms of Irish representation in Westminster. Did the Taoiseach get a sense from Mrs. Foster, on behalf of her party, that in the event of a fresh offer on maximum facilitation the DUP would be inclined to explore it because that might offer some possibilities?

The Taoiseach said that the border is the border in the event of a hard crash-out and that is the way it is in terms of it being the border of the European Union. In that context, the Taoiseach has on previous occasions referenced the recruitment of customs officers to facilitate the changes coming down the line for our ports and airports. Will he advise what progress has been made in regard to the recruitment of additional customs officers and what progress, if any, has been made in identifying technological mechanisms for checking fleet movements and so on?

I assume that the Taoiseach welcomes the statements and new position of the Ulster Farmers Union and business interests in the North that they welcome the Barnier agreement.

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