Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin has been consistent in calling for special status for the North within the EU. We have at all times supported the Government in what it has been trying to do throughout this process. Those who say that if Sinn Féin took its seven seats in Westminster everything would be resolved are idiots. Those who think the British Tories and others would not come together to stop Sinn Féin and that seven votes within the House of Commons make a difference in all of this are naive. This naivety is beyond belief.

For Sinn Féin the bottom line is the backstop and ensuring there is never a hard border on this island and that the interests of citizens are protected and upheld in the Good Friday Agreement. This protection remains vital. The British must be held to the commitment made last December. The DUP is already out of the traps supposing what is potentially on the table, which is difficult to understand given that none of us yet knows the detail of what has been agreed.

In opposing any positive solutions, the DUP has aligned itself with the most right-wing elements of the Tory Party, UKIP and extreme Brexiteers by moving from an initial position of seeking to avert or avoid a hard border to actively seeking one. The onus is on political leaders to defend our country's political and economic interests. This should be the position of everybody on all parts of this island and everyone within this Chamber.

There is now an onus on the British Government to step up to this mark. When will the parties in this House be fully briefed on what is on the table?