Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Okay, I will leave my concluding statement until then. In the past, I have just answered questions as they arose, which I will do for the next five minutes. I will then be happy to take questions.

I will go through some of the points that have been raised. If I heard her correctly, Deputy McDonald spoke about the protocol's full implementation or operation being dependent on a wider free trade agreement. I want to be clear that the Northern Ireland protocol to the withdrawal agreement was designed to be an evergreen solution which would operate with or without a trade deal. It would clearly be less complex with a trade deal, but it will operate regardless. I compliment the work of the EU and British negotiators in making sure that protocol will be fully implemented.

Deputy Brady raised a number of issues. The Welsh border situation and general preparedness in Britain are of great concern to us. Traders are telling us that they are not convinced that their counterparts in Great Britain are fully prepared. There is not a whole lot we can do about that from this side other than to keep talking about it and to make our voices heard as strongly as possible. We are trying to do the best we can within our own system. There is a lot of talk about green lanes and green lights. There may not be a physical green lane in France, but there should be a green light system on an app with regard to customs checks for goods coming through the land bridge. Trucks coming to Ireland through Holyhead about which customs officials have no concerns will effectively get a green light on an app telling the drivers that they do not have to go through customs when they arrive at Dublin or Rosslare. There are high-tech solutions on this side to make sure this will be as seamless as possible. If customs officials have concerns about trucks or want to investigate particular shipments, the drivers will get a red light and will have to go to the relevant facility. There are ways to follow that up. The system is designed to make matters as seamless as possible on this side.

I do not know what the situation is in Britain other than what we and our diplomats are hearing and what is being announced publicly. We are working very closely with the French to ensure that issues on that side with regard to goods leaving Ireland destined for the European Union can be cleared. I have met a number of significant traders in this country who have told me they are abandoning the land bridge entirely and are moving towards direct ferries. I listened very carefully to what Deputy Howlin said and there certainly is a lot of demand for the many new direct services that are operating.

Deputy Haughey raised the issue of the rule of law, as did Deputy Cian O'Callaghan, Deputy Richmond and, I am sure, many others. It is a really important issue. It should be noted that this is the first time that EU funding has been conditional on respect for the rule of law. That is in place. It is not perfect but it is as agreed at the European Council and at the European Parliament. We have not rolled back on that. It is happening and, in my opinion, it is very welcome. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan was concerned that it may have been more about fighting corruption but corruption is one of the big problems in some of these countries. Issues regarding the rule of law allow for corruption. We need to look at the issue very carefully.

On the cross-border healthcare directive, I will defer to what the Taoiseach said. It raises extremely complex issues. It is correct to say that they have not been resolved yet. Britain has decided to leave the European Union and that presents a problem regarding access to that particular scheme. There will be no difficulties with what is called cross-border healthcare. If one is in Britain or the North and has an emergency, one will be able to use the hospitals there. That will not be an issue. As things stand, one will not be able to arrange the type of treatments we currently arrange, but the Taoiseach is personally committed to overcoming the very genuine difficulties that exist in that regard.

I heard what Deputy Boyd Barrett said about content moderators. I will take that issue up with the Minister because I have serious concerns in that regard having read those particular articles.

With regard to antigen testing, the Commission has published fantastic documents on what is happening on a co-ordinated basis. Some Members will have read these. Antigen testing is very useful but it is not the panacea some present it as.

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