Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will not delay the Minister, other than to say that every time I see him, the Taoiseach and the Minister of State on television, my confidence that they know what they are about grows. The job they are doing is exceptional. They are representing this country well and anywhere we travel we hear of the work they have done. However, it is not the members of the Government that bother me. It is those on the other side of the water that bother me. It is the UK. There seems to be a total lack of any coherent plan. I know I should not use the b-word, but I do not believe that a border will imposed by the European Union per se. However, I do not believe that the British are prepared to establish some way of managing traffic to and fro on the Northern side. This will eventually force us into a situation where a border exists, whether we like it or not. That is my fear. I know we do not like to talk about that, but it is my fear.

The problem is that we do not have the resources to manage any sort of border. We have a barracks in Donegal, a barracks in Dundalk and nothing in between. There are 208 crossings and 490 km of road. We do not want to go back to blasting unapproved roads. I hope, as my colleague has just said, that there are contingency plans in place and that we are thinking about the unthinkable. One of the things we might do is look at Mullingar barracks, and perhaps close its gates and have it ready in case it is needed. That would be one of the things I would suggest, but I can see the Minister smiling. I know why he is smiling but that is all right.