Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Yes, but nothing speaks better than money. It speaks volumes that the Government is offering a grant to companies to draw up a plan. One hundred companies have drawn down the grant to draw up a plan, which shows that the figure of 6% is probably more accurate than the figure of 63%. If someone rings up a company and asks whether it is planning or preparing a plan, it would want to say it is preparing a plan. However, it does not sound as if they are preparing many plans when only 100 companies have drawn down the grant from Enterprise Ireland.

The Minister outlined in principle and in total what is agreed and matters that are yet to be agreed. Regarding the Border, are we still in the green area or are we marked in yellow or white, as per the colour coding of the draft withdrawal agreement? Regarding the backsliding, there is a concern about language. I would love to know which EU official came up with the phrase "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed". We had all understood that until citizenship rights, the divorce payment and the issue of the Irish Border were agreed, nothing else could move forward. Now everything has moved forward, everything is rolled in together and "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed".

My concern about this is that when it comes towards the end of the negotiations and our issue of the Border and the North is piled on top of all the other issues, the pressure will come on late at night to get the deal across the line and there will be a fudge. The last time there was a fudge on the Irish Border, it finished in a disgraced Boundary Commission in 1926 and in a complete debacle. At the same time there was a debate and a Treaty negotiation ongoing for weeks and weeks and, under high pressure, the issue of the Irish Border was kicked to a commission and was due to be resolved at some future date but never got resolved. That is one of our key concerns.We are also looking for citizenship rights. We know the citizenship rights of UK citizens around Europe and EU citizens in the United Kingdom. What about the special rights of citizens in Northern Ireland, of both traditions, who are entitled to be EU citizens by virtue of the Good Friday Agreement? On this side of the House, we have spoken about employing a Nordic Council-style model in the future relationship between these islands. That, of course, is already provided for in part by the Good Friday Agreement, namely, in strand three mechanisms involving the British and Irish Governments. It could involve formalising, in a more structured way, the British-Irish Council and its meetings so it would yield tangible results and have considerably more powers than at present.

We must ensure a relaxing of state aid rules in light of the fact that the Republic will be the region of the island most affected by Brexit. The backsliding on the backstop by the British Government must be addressed. Our delegation to the House of Commons and the House of Lords was led by Senator Neale Richmond. One of the most startling documents we read in advance of the meeting concerns the House of Commons analysis of possible solutions for the Irish border. Mentioned are the "Boris border", the Canada-USA border and other solutions. Despite this, as I am sure the Minister is well aware, the House of Commons document contains no technological solutions other than theoretical ones, currently available anywhere in the world, that will keep the border open in circumstances other than those in which Northern Ireland remains in the customs union or Single Market. The frightening reality is that most British politicians do not understand that. They do not realise it or do not want to. I do not know how one can engage with them to a point where they actually do realise it and acknowledge the reality of what is involved in order to keep the border open in the way it is today, with its 203 crossings, 208 crossings or 275 crossings. I do not know how the EU border agency is going to take the fact that we have reduced the number of border crossings but the reality is that the British Government does not know what it wants. If one does not know what one wants, one does not know one's destination or how to get there.

While the transition arrangement is helpful, I have concerns. We are now in circumstances in which, ironically, the status quoin terms of the make-up of the current British Government is the best we could have at this time because the alternatives after an election, when Mrs. Theresa May gone, would be either a Brexiteer in charge of the Tory Party or Mr. Jeremy Corbyn, who is purging his own party, the Labour Party, of anybody who has any EU sympathies whatsoever. This would bring Mr. Corbyn to his goal, which is the nationalisation of everything in Britain. Once one is outside the European Union, one can do all those things but how he is going to pay for it, I do not know. We are actually dealing with the best British Government we could possibly have because the alternatives will be worse. The status quowill not remain for much longer, however. We are concerned on this side of the House over the backsliding by the British Government. I refer to its disagreeing with what it signed up to and we are anxious to have the arrangement formalised. If it is not, there can be no deal whatsoever.