Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It appears to be a pie, a cake and a dog's dinner all at the same time. This new idea of having customs checks within ten miles of the Border was planned at least a year ago when the British Government brought in legislation where it could introduce stop, search and seizure within ten miles of the Border. That legislation passed in the Houses of Commons in 2017. This is not something it has just dreamt up; this is something it has been planning. It proposes to have customs checks and infrastructure on a border that is 499 km long and has between 308 and 310 crossings, which means a crossing approximately every mile. Let us bear in mind that between the European Union and all the countries to the east of it, there are only 138 border crossings on a 6,000 km long border, yet somehow the UK Government believes that the border crossings on this island can be managed and patrolled successfully in a customs union and a Single Market.It is simply undoable. The report from two UNESCO chairs is more important to note, as is the fact that President Obama's senior policy adviser on countering violent extremism stated that if there was a hard border as a result of Brexit, there would be a return to violence on this island. The only question is about the scale of the violence. That message has not got through to those at Westminster, or if it has, they do not care. They simply do not care who lives or dies as a result of Brexit, as, sadly, has been shown in British opinion polls.

I congratulate the Government. This is the only time the House will hear me do so. The introduction of history back into the curriculum with special status by the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy McHugh-----