Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this Topical Issue matter. It does not shock me that several Deputies have decided to row in on this issue. Deputy O'Callaghan has already said that we are talking about a breach of "international law in a very specific and limited way". It is an utterly crazy term. Initially, we thought that this was sabre-rattling and the British Government setting out a negotiating stance. However, then we had the news that Jonathan Jones, the head of the British Government's legal team, had resigned in connection with this issue.

We need an answer concerning what the EU is going to do and what the Irish Government is going to do. We are incredibly worried about what the British Government intends to do. This is a British Government that has missed every deadline connected with Brexit. We are also worried, if the British Government is willing to circumvent the Irish protocol and the withdrawal agreement, that we will have difficulties in the future. People in Border areas like Dundalk are very worried about what the future will hold, not just from a business point of view but also from a societal perspective. We do not want to see the resumption of any kind of infrastructure, checks or anything like that on the Border, because that would be utterly unacceptable given the history we have in that area.

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