Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Last week, I asked the Taoiseach whether he spoke to the President of the Commission about a no-deal scenario and the Border question. I did not get a reply at the time. It is important to make the point that a no-deal Brexit would be a disaster for all concerned, not just Ireland but the UK and the EU. Let us keep this in perspective as we discuss this. Today, for the first time, the Tánaiste has been a bit more frank than normal in terms of what no deal would mean for a border in Ireland. We can refuse to co-operate with the European Union, which is what I took from the Taoiseach's comments some months ago that we are simply not planning for a border and we will not put up one. How long that would last I am not quite sure. We did not get the full story on the discussion with Chancellor Merkel, which lasted 40 minutes. We may have to wait for the 30 year rule to find out exactly what was discussed.

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