Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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3. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of the Brexit negotiations and Ireland's domestic preparedness for all scenarios, including a no deal Brexit, and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40420/18]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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Will the Tánaiste provide us with an update on the status of the Brexit negotiations, particularly Ireland's domestic preparedness for all scenarios, including the dreaded no deal Brexit, which looks ominous?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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To state the obvious, we are in a critical phase n the Article 50 negotiations which resumed on 16 August and have been continuous since. Following the informal European Council summit in Salzburg on 20 September, the President of the European Council, Mr. Donald Tusk, restated the European Union's position that there will be no withdrawal agreement without a solid, operational and legally binding Irish backstop. At the summit EU leaders reaffirmed their full support for Mr. Michel Barnier in his negotiations, including his efforts to "de-dramatise" the backstop which has become the most high profile issue that remains to be agreed as regards the withdrawal treaty.

Subsequently, on 21 September, the British Prime Minister, Mrs. Theresa May, stated the United Kingdom would bring forward its own proposals on the backstop. The Government welcomes this initiative and urges that it be done as a matter of urgency in order that the negotiating teams can engage constructively in finalising the legal text of the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland. However, the European Union has been clear that this outcome must be fully consistent with the agreement reached in the joint progress report of last December, the agreement committed to last March and the clear commitments and guarantees that came with it provided by the United Kingdom.

It is important that there be substantial engagement on this issue by the European Council at its meeting on 18 October. At that meeting Ireland and its EU partners will then decide if conditions are sufficient to call an extraordinary summit - probably in the second week of November - to finalise and formalise the deal. Real progress on the backstop will be an essential part of that decision.

Regarding our domestic preparedness, the Government's contingency planning for Brexit was initiated well in advance of the UK referendum in June 2016. Since my appointment as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in June 2017, I have overseen a sustained intensification of these efforts. As part of them, the Government is organising the Getting Ireland Brexit Ready set of workshops around Ireland to inform and advise on Brexit preparedness. The Government has made a range of support measures and resources available to businesses. The first of the workshops will take place in Pairc Uí Chaoimh tomorrow.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

Preparation and planning are ongoing across government to address a range of Brexit scenarios, including a no deal scenario. Departments and agencies continue to develop and implement, as appropriate, Brexit preparedness and contingency planning in their areas of responsibility. On 18 July and 18 September, I presented detailed memorandums to the Government on Brexit preparedness and contingency planning. The memorandums included elements aimed at moving from planning to implementation in a number of key areas, in particular, preparing ports and airports for Brexit. This is additional to the dedicated measures announced in budget 2018 aimed at supporting businesses to get Brexit ready.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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It is obvious to us all that the next couple of weeks are critical, but we know that the chasm between the European Union and the United Kingdom is quite big and that there is little consensus on the way forward. It was interesting to hear the British Prime Minister, Mrs. Theresa May, warn yesterday in her speech at the Conservative Party conference that while Great Britain wanted a deal, that did not mean a deal at any cost and that it was not afraid to leave with no deal on the table if it had to do so as the stakes were high and the timeframe was tight in negotiating the terms of the withdrawal agreement and, most importantly, the backstop.

In negotiating on Brexit it is essential that the Government safeguard the Good Friday Agreement. We all heard Ms Arlene Foster's comments earlier in the week. It is an international treaty which cannot be changed unilaterally, a point on which we are all agreed. It cannot be picked apart. A no deal Brexit would be in nobody's interests and would cause huge economic harm to the country. We have seen report after report outline the consequences. My party and I do not want to see it come to pass, but nevertheless, the Government has to be prudent and plan for it. Will the Tánaiste update me on the status of the negotiations and contingency planning in general, particularly for a no deal scenario? Deputy Lisa Chambers who is unable to be here recently asked a parliamentary question about the 450 customs officials being recruited by the Government who are to be trained and in place by 29 March 2019. Can we receive an update on that matter because she felt the answer was insufficient?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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A lot of questions have been asked.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Tánaiste has one minute in which to answer them.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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He will be well able to do so.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Government's focus for the next six weeks will be on trying to get a deal done. We are not going to focus on increasing the public commentary on contingency planning. All of that work is important and continuing. However, when one is focused on trying to get a deal done, one needs to start talking about solutions, rather than dealing with problems, while at the same time ensuring we are planning for all scenarios, as we are. While I understand Deputy Lisa Chambers's focus on contingency planning and while we will give her as much information as we can, between now and the middle of November I want the focus to be on getting a deal done. When people talk about a chasm between the UK and EU positions, I do not accept that. What we have is a withdrawal treaty that has been 90% written and agreed to. The last 10% is difficult to agree. Most of it relates to Ireland and the Irish backstop. However, the commitment from the UK Prime Minister is a backstop that will provide the guarantees necessary that there will be no physical border infrastructure on the island of Ireland in the future. To her credit, she has committed to this. What we now need is a legal text that deliver will it in the Irish protocol that will be part of the withdrawal treaty. This can be done in an intensification of the negotiations in the next two weeks.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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Is the Tánaiste in a position to tell us whether the European Union has received any new proposal from the UK Government for the backstop? While everybody is hoping agreement can be reached on the withdrawal agreement and the backstop, we are cognisant that one of the hurdles that must be overcome is the fact that the British Prime Minister, Mrs. Theresa May, must get it through Parliament. That is a big "if" and a big question. In the event that she fails to get it through Parliament, what do the Tánaiste and the Government foresee will happen? What will be the state of play in the negotiations if she fails to get a deal, if there is one, through Parliament?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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From our perspective, the focus cannot be on political management at Westminster in the event that there is a deal between the UK Government and the Michel Barnier task force acting on behalf of the European Union. The first step is to get the deal done. What is likely to happen - starting, I suspect, from today - is that the negotiating teams will lock themselves into a very intense period of negotiation, focusing on the unresolved issues, one of which is the Irish backstop. That is what is needed. I hope we will have a recommendation for the October leaders' Council meeting resulting from that intensification of negotiations. I am not aware that the UK side has yet tabled any formal new proposal, but the UK Prime Minister has certainly committed to doing so. I hope that in the next week or so we will see that new proposal being brought forward because I am sure the EU task force will also have ideas and, of course, concerns about some of what may be proposed. Everybody understands a deal needs to be done in the next few weeks. With flexibility and good will on both sides, that deal can be done. Certainly on the EU side, Mr. Michel Barnier will work to protect EU interests and the integrity of the Single Market and the customs union, but he will sensibly also try to find a way forward by showing flexibility in appropriate areas.