David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

For the first time, I understand the attitude of General de Gaulle when Britain applied for membership. He saw how difficult and awkward a member Britain would prove to be. We are in a catastrophic situation because party interests were put ahead of national interests and it is a disgrace to politics that this was allowed to happen in Britain. The other night, I listened to a Tory MP who said it was like they were in the jungle or the rainforest, hacking their way through but not knowing the direction in which they were going and feeling they were going around in circles. That is exactly what is happening here. Mr. Cox is a rather unsuitable person for this role and he would be more at home playing "Rumpole of the Bailey" with his jokes about his codpiece and other things. This is an intensely serious and potentially catastrophic situation and the dimensions of his codpiece are of no relevance or significance.

The Bill is a portmanteau Bill. It is coming very late in the day, with two weeks to go until Brexit, but it is here. I wonder what has been left out and I am quite certain we will discover that some things have been left out. It is inevitable and I am not blaming anybody. As a result of Mr. Cox's statement to the House of Commons, I believe he has sunk Theresa May's deal and that is a very good thing. I am very pleased because it was a half measure. We do not want a deal and we do not want Britain to be out of the European Union but to stay in it.

I see Mrs. May's deal being voted down and the no-deal scenario also being voted down, following which they will look for an extension. I hope that will lead to a second referendum in which the remainers will be victorious. That is problematic, however, and may not happen.If the British vote a second time for Brexit, there we are and we then will be stuck with it. I hope that there will be a second referendum. There would be nothing more democratic and the nonsense that it is not democratic is an utter lie. There are difficulties with the time extension, however, because if the UK is given an additional 21 months, we will pass right through the time for holding the European Parliament elections. What will happen then? Will British candidates stand for election? I do not know. It is yet another complete mess.

I listened with interest to Senator Richmond's contribution but I regret that he introduced a partisan note. It is exactly what happened in Britain and we are in the mess we are in because people played party politics with issues of prime national importance. The Senator stated there is no such thing as a managed no-deal. In that case, what are we doing here today? The Bill is an attempt by the Government to manage a no-deal-----