David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Tánaiste quite rightly described the joint instrument as a legal instrument which has a legal effect and impact. People outside this Chamber want to know that the legal meaning of the backstop agreed last December and since, on which the Dáil voted and under which the North cannot be unilaterally taken out of the customs union and Single Market unless and until something of equivalence comes along, remains intact.

This is a very clear question. If the answer is "Yes", then we have had no changes to the backstop.

There has been some scrutiny of the advice of the Attorney General in Britain. Are the assurances the Tánaiste is giving to the House underpinned by the Office of the Attorney General in this State? Is it the advice of the Attorney General in this State that there have been no legal changes to the backstop and that the backstop, as agreed in the Dáil, is intact and does what it was designed to do, namely, provide an insurance policy for the people of this island?

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