Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat. I welcome the Tánaiste back to the House and I join him in condemning the car bomb in Derry at the weekend. Most of us lived through decades of violence in the North. We saw the futility of that violence, how useless it is and how it put many obstacles in the way of people of both traditions trying to work together. Thanks be to God, we thought we had put it aside as we moved on from the Good Friday Agreement but where there is a vacuum in politics, there will always be evil, violent men and women ready to fill that vacuum. It is incumbent on us, therefore, to continue to work for political solutions to the difficulties that face us, not only on Brexit but also in other areas.

To date, the bipartisan approach to Brexit in Leinster House has been remarkable.Politicians on most sides realise that the significance of Brexit allows no time for point scoring. I am very proud of the position adopted by my party and my party leader, Deputy Micheál Martin, in agreeing to extend the confidence and supply arrangement for another year. Certain commentators and other parties have attacked our position. Indeed, there has been some criticism from within our party-----