Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing my time with Deputy Brendan Smith. The Tánaiste said two rounds of negotiations have taken place so far, a third round will take place next week and a final round in June. The indications are not very positive at this stage and there is no indication that the UK will seek an extension. The Tánaiste did, however, report some progress on the protocol on Ireland, and that is good to hear, but we know what Michael Gove has said about the proposed EU office in Belfast.

It has obviously become an issue. My party leader, Deputy Micheál Martin, stated yesterday that he does not detect any objection to such an office in Northern Ireland itself so it is important that the Tánaiste remains strong on that issue. It is not a major issue in the overall scheme of things, but it is a symbolic one and it would be important to have that EU office in order to monitor the situation in the context of customs arrangements and so on in Larne and Belfast. I would be interested to hear more information about that.

The Tánaiste indicated that we need to prepare for all outcomes. We certainly must prepare for a no-deal scenario. The latter is a possibility that is coming down the tracks and could have major implications for our agrifood, manufacturing and tourism sectors, and for SMEs generally. What governmental structures are in place to bring supports to these businesses? Some structures were in place before the Covid-19 crisis but those sectors and SMEs in general will need a lot of support to survive this economic tsunami. Apart from the Cabinet, are there structures in place, such as Cabinet sub-committees, to ensure that fair and positive consideration is given to offering supports to the sectors which will badly need them?

See this speech in context