Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Let us be very clear, the questions I asked have not been answered. I have never accepted that 22 February is an acceptable date for publication. I have always said to the Tánaiste I felt it was very late in the day and we wanted to see the full Bill. My position has remained unchanged.

In terms of our own preparations, can the Tánaiste clarify the Taoiseach's comments in Davos about Army personnel on the Border? Can the Tánaiste clarify whether anybody spoke to the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces before those comments were made? The questions being asked are reasonable. To suggest there is full agreement on the strategy is not fair or an accurate reflection of what has been said.. We have met regularly but I have always said I felt it was very late in the day to publish a full Bill on 22 February given other member states published their legislation a long time ago. We are the most affected member state.

The Tánaiste has not addressed the criticisms regarding the take-up of Brexit supports, which are low. Just 3% of Enterprise Ireland firms have taken up the Be Prepared grant. According to AIB, in quarter 3 last year, only 5% of SMEs had a Brexit plan. They are fair criticisms and the Tánaiste has not answered the questions. The answers have not been provided.

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