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

Given that the withdrawal Bill has yet to go through the House of Commons and the House of Lords, neither we or the Government can be complacent in respect of how the State prepares for 31 January. The acuity is still present. We know from a series of reports that businesses are still not as prepared as they should be, even though the first deadline was last March. There are ongoing issues in that regard. Now we are facing the third deadline on 31 January. It is interesting that consumer confidence is still impacted by this uncertainty. As I said earlier, even if the withdrawal Bill is passed, it will have a negative impact on the Irish economy because Boris Johnson wants to take Britain out of the customs union and the Single Market. Europe has confirmed this to us. The EU is concerned that he wishes to change the dynamic in the relationship between the UK and Europe in terms of achieving-----

See this speech in context