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

Two days before the date on which Brexit was scheduled to take place, it has been delayed. This is undeniably good news. There is more time to try to ratify the withdrawal agreement and its essential transition period and even more importantly, there is some prospect that a move towards a less damaging Brexit will be supported by the House of Commons.

Today’s votes in Westminster will not bring finality and they may not even bring clarity as to what will happen, but the combination of these votes and last weekend’s march in London have put the focus back on where it should always have been, which is the permanent relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union. The chaos in British politics which has been caused by the negative and destructive agenda of the fanatical anti-European Union fringe is a tragedy. In a short period relationships of trust and co-operation built up over decades have been smashed. The deep and sincere attachment to a shared European identity felt by those who marched on Saturday and the millions who stand behind them is something we should never forget, and it should always remind us that anger with a political elite should never be allowed to stand in the way of solidarity with those who are still, at least for a short time, our fellow European Union citizens.

The outcome of the summit was a reasonable compromise driven by the sincere commitment to avoiding a no-deal scenario by key European leaders. I wish to acknowledge the continued interest and support for Ireland I found during the meeting of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, ALDE, leaders on Thursday, and indeed their understanding that frustration with the British Government was no justification for being inflexible.

Yesterday the Taoiseach came up with the entirely novel argument - for him - that he would never divulge anything discussed at a Council meeting. Anyone who takes the time to review the coverage of past Council meetings will find the Irish media full of accounts of who said what – accounts clearly coming directly from an Irish perspective.

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