Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy has made a number of statements as if they are absolute facts. The truth is that there are still many unknowns with regard to how the future relationship negotiations will go. I share the Deputy's concern that the timelines are tight. Given the recent history of negotiating trade deals with other parts of the world, it generally takes years, not months, to negotiate trade deals. Even the ratification process often takes longer than a year. It is very ambitious for a British Prime Minister to expect that all of this can be done in ten or 11 months. Once we get into a transition process, the challenges and the timelines to resolve them will become clear. We will have some time in the build-up to the summer of 2020 before there is a need to decide whether an extra one or two years are required. Regardless of what is being said now, I think the current focus should be on trying to get a withdrawal agreement across the line, which has not yet been done. Once that creates a legal framework related to a transition period, we can move through that process and deal with the issues as they arise.

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