Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I am very glad to see a Minister taking a slot on a Thursday evening. The graveyard slot, I think, is what people call it.

This is an incredibly important issue. As with an awful lot of issues relating to Northern Ireland politics at this time, it is nearly a different question we need to ask since the Topical Issue matter was submitted. What Edwin Poots has done as Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in ordering an end to agrichecks is obviously a complete breach. From what the Minister, Deputy Coveney, said earlier and what other commentators have stated, those checks are still ongoing and Edwin Poots may have jumped ahead of any legal checks that should have been carried out, but that is nothing shocking for him, given the chaos he finds himself in politically and the chaos his political party is in.

We need it affirmed that there is absolutely no doubt but that the withdrawal agreement and the Irish protocol are there to stay. It is an international agreement and there is an absolute requirement on the British Government to ensure that it stays. None of us have been particularly happy with some of the commentary to the effect that this relates to the Executive. I do not know where that sits at the moment in the sense that the Executive no longer exists because Paul Givan was told by Jeffrey Donaldson to resign his post and that is done. We know there is legislation being brought through that probably gives us an element of breathing time, but the fact is that Deputy McDonald has already said there should be an election. That is one thing. We need to make sure there is absolute clarity at European level, at Irish Government level and across the board that the Irish protocol is here to stay and that the British Government has an absolute requirement to ensure that. The British Government has failed because many times it has given succour to a unionism that has gone down a cul-de-sac.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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What Edwin Poots has done as Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in the North is absolutely scandalous and reckless. It flies in the face of international law and is in breach of an international agreement between the European Union and Britain and in breach of the protocol. It is very clear that the DUP, for some very narrow and nationalistic reason of its own, and the Tory Party in Britain have for some time had a hyped-up agenda to do everything they possibly can to destroy the protocol. I even saw the DUP today talk about how the protocol was costing millions of euro per day to businesses in the North. I know that the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and I and every political party that speaks to businesses in the North and their representatives get a different story. There certainly is not this cost the DUP talks about. Most businesses we talk to and deal with tell us that the protocol has been very good for them because it offers them the opportunity of trade with Britain on one hand and trade with the European Union on the other as well as the freedom from a lot of tariffs. It has been very positive in many ways. There have of course been some minor hitches, but those hitches are very small and can be easily dealt with. What the DUP is doing has therefore nothing to do with protecting the business interests of anyone, north, south, east or west; it is simply to do with its own narrow political agenda. That needs to be spelled out clearly.

The British Government needs to be called to book on this and to stand up to unionism to ensure that they do the right thing, that we can move forward and that the protocol is kept in place. It has to be because it is part of an international agreement to which the British Government signed up. Many people are angry. Over recent hours we have seen that the Assembly will now be pulled down and we will have no Assembly in place. Again it is this forward march, particularly, it seems, by the DUP, towards disaster at all costs. It wants to try to create as much chaos as possible. It is totally outside the interests of its own people as well as everyone else on this island. I will give the Minister the opportunity to make very clear the Irish Government's position and the European Union's position on this.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies for raising this important issue which offers the opportunity to discuss important developments in Northern Ireland.

The Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland is an integral part of an international agreement, the EU-UK withdrawal agreement, which was negotiated, agreed and ratified by the British Government and the EU. The protocol was jointly designed by the UK and the EU to safeguard the Good Friday Agreement in all its dimensions and to protect the gains of the peace process.

Yesterday's announcement by the Northern Ireland Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs that he has ordered officials to halt the implementation of post-Brexit SPS checks under the remit of his Department is deeply unhelpful. It only serves to create further uncertainty for people and businesses in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland's business community has been resolute in its call for certainty, stability and predictability. They have consistently underlined the importance of Northern Ireland's unique dual-market access under the protocol and have done so again today.

Furthermore, this afternoon's decision by Paul Givan to resign as First Minister is regrettable and clearly has wider implications for the Northern Ireland Executive and its important work. People in Northern Ireland want to see a positive commitment from everyone to resolve issues, not the creation of new cliff edges, threats and instability. No positive agenda is served by the breakdown of the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement - neither the Executive nor of the North-South Ministerial Council, which has also been impacted by the political instability in recent months.

The protocol fully recognises the constitutional position of Northern Ireland as set out in the Good Friday agreement. That is clear in black and white. Our focus now, as always, will be on working with the political parties and the British Government to support political stability in Northern Ireland and the effective operation and important work of all the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement.

I have been in contact today with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, as I was last night, on these developments and their implications for political stability. I also spoke at length on developments with the European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič this morning before his discussions with the British Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, this afternoon. Their talks are progressing and should be given the space and support needed to try to reach accommodation and agreement.

It is our understanding that, as of today, all relevant SPS checks are continuing to take place as normal and that businesses have been advised to continue to follow customs and SPS rules in full despite what the Northern Ireland Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Edwin Poots, said last night. The checks required under the protocol are not optional; they have a clear legal basis both in UK domestic law and in international law. Therefore, failure to implement them is a breach of both international and UK domestic legislation.

The protocol is part of the wider withdrawal agreement and is inextricably linked to the trade and co-operation agreement between the UK and the EU. As one relies on the other, if one is not implemented, it potentially impacts on the viability of the other. This evening, I call on the British Government to uphold the law, stand by its agreements, and provide certainty to the business community and other relevant stakeholders. This will allow Northern Ireland's peace, prosperity and stability to be properly safeguarded.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I am very glad that the Minister finished on the absolute need for the British Government to uphold the law, uphold the agreements they have agreed to and provide clarity. We have all heard it from business people we have spoken to before. Even today the representatives of the retailers and manufacturers have all given commentary. They want clarity and solutions to whatever difficulties they have.

I believe Maroš Šefčovič said previously that he would stay at the table. Obviously, Liz Truss was not going to provide what the DUP leader, Jeffrey Donaldson, was looking for in the sense of a cliff edge. That probably precipitated some of what happened today. I suppose on some level it is hopeful, but we need to ensure that is maintained. Has the Irish Government received any updates on the legalities of the SPS checks? As they are ongoing, I presume that means that Edwin Poots overshot the mark on it.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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The issue here seems to be that Edwin Poots went completely outside his remit. He claims to have got independent legal advice outside of his Department, which is quite unusual for any Minister to be claiming as a basis for carrying out such a dastardly deed. I understand the British Government has the option to override a decision made by a Stormont Minister in the circumstances where it is in breach of an international agreement. Have we received anything back from the British Government in respect of what its intentions would be if, following the instruction given by Edwin Poots, officials in the North choose to try to implement that and withdraw these checks? Is there a second option that the British Government could step in and do something about it?

On the wider point, I am very concerned that all of this has taken a very bad turn in the last few hours and few days for no apparent reason. It is highly disrespectful to the process in which the European Union and Ms Truss are engaged for the DUP to act this way.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The message I have from the British Government today is that it is taking legal advice about the options available. I understand that the senior officials who are maintaining checks at ports in Northern Ireland today are also getting legal advice about their obligations.

Ireland's position on the implementation of the protocol has been consistent. We will continue to work with Vice President Maroš Šefčovič and his team and also with Liz Truss and her team to try to find solutions to outstanding issues through compromise, flexibility and pragmatism over how the protocol is implemented. We must be honest with people and consistent about what the protocol represents. The protocol is part of an international agreement, the withdrawal agreement, as I said earlier, agreed and ratified by the UK and the EU together. It is the result of over four years of difficult negotiations which involved compromises on all sides. It is the one and only solution found to protect the Good Friday Agreement in all its dimensions in the context of the UK's decision to leave the European Union.

The UK has a clear international obligation to implement the terms of the protocol, including by ensuring that the agreed upon SPS checks are carried out at ports in Northern Ireland. This is not only an international legal obligation. The European Union Withdrawal Agreement Act 2020, enacted by the UK Parliament, gives legal force in UK domestic law to the withdrawal agreement of which the protocol is an integral part. This is British domestic legislation as well as international law in the context of the treaties that have been agreed.

Together with the European Commission, we will continue to monitor developments in Northern Ireland closely. However, it is ultimately the responsibility of the British Government to honour its commitments and to respect its international obligations. This is an important month in the context of the protocol issues. I know there are significant efforts under way, on the EU side and on the British Government side to try to find accommodation on the key issues of customs, SPS and so on by the end of the month. Despite all the politics being played with this issue, we need to ensure that we give the negotiators time and space to try to find accommodation to settle some of these issues in February if we can.