Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

They are serious issues and there is confusion and chaos among the public because the Minister has not made any real effort to provide clarity or have them sorted. I am delighted that he could make an appearance this morning, despite the pressures of work. I hope he did not have to skip elevenses. We spoke about this issue last night and the Minister's problem is that it has not been resolved.

Other Ministers have managed to resolve issues regarding their briefs, in particular on the common travel area. They have managed to do it because they put in the effort and time to doing so.

I will not say the Minister does not care but I do not believe he realises just how important these issues are for people living in Border areas and the nightmare it will be, in particular with regard to licences and green cards. Workers will be travelling to work on a daily basis, family members will be visiting each other and tourists will be travelling. If a farmer is driving a tractor across his fields and one field is in the North and the other is in the South will he need a green card? If he has an accident in his tractor will he need a green card? These are the basic day-to-day issues that are leaving people in total confusion as to what they need and what they must do and the Minister has done nothing to resolve it.

The Minister, Deputy Coveney, made it clear the option for addressing the issue is under Article 8 of the EU motor insurance directive and the EU can give a waiver to Britain and the North for the requirements of green cards, as it did with Serbia in 2011. However, the Minister, Deputy Ross, has made no attempt whatsoever. It is hard to credit, given the problems this will cause for people, that he has put in no real effort. Everybody knows he should have been pushing the EU to get the waiver but he did not do so. He has let everybody down by not doing it. When we think about the problems this will cause, it seems the Minister is completely blind to the sensitivities around this issue. I knew from the time I asked him at a meeting of the transport committee about the green card that even on the basic points regarding when it was due, whether people would have to pay for it and how many would be required the Minister had to be prompted with the information. He did not come in with all of the information. This tells us he did not have the inclination, the care or the concern to look into it so that he would be across it and would make representations to the EU on the common travel area. If other Ministers could resolve issues in their brief but the Minister did not, it sums it up.

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