Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I genuinely thank Deputy Howlin for acknowledging that I do not have a crystal ball, cannot predict the future and do not have an answer to every hypothetical question. I have learned from experience over the past year or so that it can be dangerous to look into the crystal ball and make predictions about the future or to answer hypothetical questions because when it turns out that one cannot predict the future or answer every hypothetical question, one gets attacked for it. This is why I am guarded in answering questions that ask me to predict the future or come with a hypothetical answer to every hypothetical question, and I appreciate the House's understanding of this.

A request for an extension will really depend on the nature of the request. I have not had a chance to speak to everyone yet but my general sense across the European Council is that it is open to granting a further extension to the United Kingdom. However, we do not want that further extension to be merely a licence for further indecision. We need a decision from the United Kingdom Government and Parliament. We need a clear plan. An extension in this context is one thing but a rolling extension that just leads to further indecision and further majorities against things but for nothing is not a solution for anyone. There is a real concern that if the UK stays in the European Union beyond the date of the European elections and does not hold European elections, there is a risk the European Parliament will not be properly constituted and that any decisions it makes, whether on legislation, budgets or the appointment of a new Commission and Commission President, may therefore not be valid. This is a real concern that many people hold. There is also growing frustration among the majority of countries that will not be adversely affected by Brexit - a frustration I do not share because Brexit is so important for us and could impact us so severely - that the concentration on Brexit is taking us away from other important issues and matters. This is worrying for us, needless to say.

To respond to Deputy Boyd Barrett's questions, I do not wish to comment too much on the internal politics of the UK but I agree with him that Prime Minister May's offer to engage with the leader of the Labour Party, Mr. Corbyn, on Brexit to come to a compromise is timely. I do not know if Mr. Corbyn will rise to the occasion or whether he will show leadership and be able to come up with a compromise plan with Prime Minister May. I hope he does, but we will see if that is what happens in the coming days.

Regarding business preparedness, I again encourage any business that has not engaged in this regard to please do so. Many businesses are very prepared for Brexit. Many are not and have not availed of the information or supports available and many are still adopting a wait-and-see approach. I would prefer if businesses operated a precautionary approach and made preparations. Even if no-deal is unlikely, preparations should be made in any case.

I confirmed about two weeks ago - if not in the House, certainly in interviews - that preliminary or rough discussions had begun on how we can meet our twin objectives of protecting the Good Friday Agreement, on which the peace in Ireland is based, and protecting the integrity of the Single Market and customs union, on which our economy, economic model and jobs are based. This will be a difficult thing to do. We know that the backstop will work and will ensure we have tariff-free, friction-free, quota-free and bureaucracy-free North-South trade. I do not know for certain whether it is possible to come up with an alternative that does this, other than the UK remaining in the European Union or staying in the Single Market and customs union, but we will do everything we possibly can to avoid the emergence of a hard border on our island. We have the support of our European colleagues on this. We know that some things can be done remotely - the collection of tariffs, for example - and customs duties can be collected as other taxes are collected, either online or through tax offices. We know how to intercept smuggling and we already have a smuggling operation in place in respect of cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, diesel and so on.

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