Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue of Brexit again. The recent statement by the British Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, Mr. David Davis, to the effect that the phase 1 agreement was not legally enforceable was very unhelpful. I believe he has since qualified his remarks and has said that it is legally enforceable under the withdrawal arrangements.We were all a little excited two weeks ago. At the time I stated I was very disappointed with the British edition of The Sun newspaper for effectively telling the Taoiseach to shut his gob as I believed it was both unnecessary to do so and unwarranted. In the past few days we learned that a British parliamentarian did not know the difference between Deputy Enda Kenny and Bertie Ahern and various things. That is unacceptable, but sometimes we need to take a step back. Mr. Adam Boulton, as a presenter, has a right to take on and ask politicians difficult questions and, in turn, the Tánaiste, Deputy Simon Coveney, answered extremely well. Mr. Boulton then became involved in a media spat and said, "You Irish need to get over yourselves," but perhaps he has a point because sometimes people can be very precious. There have been instances when I have used social media to challenge something that has been said and various groups have responded and sought an apology. Perhaps Mr. Boulton was right when he said, "You Irish need to get over yourselves," just like the Scottish nationalists, the English nationalists and the far left must. Sometimes we over-emphasise things. We fight our corner and are well able to do so, but sometimes we believe the English have said something and should apologise for it. As I said, Mr. Boulton may be right; we have fought a tough battle on Brexit. I do not know Mr. Boulton, but I do know that he did not deserve the media onslaught following the making of his statement. As every politician here knows, after we articulate our points, various groups will attack us. Therefore, I think Mr. Boulton was right.