Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

180. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will clarify reports in the media on comments made by the former head of the European Commission’s customs procedures unit (details supplied) with regard to a hard border in counties Cavan and Monaghan, that the Government will be obliged to enforce strict border controls to avoid steep penalties from the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6137/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Two of the four headline priorities for the Government in managing Brexit are our economic and trading arrangements and Northern Ireland and the peace process, including border issues. In this regard, the Government’s clearly stated preference is to maintain the closest possible trading relationship between the UK and the EU, including Ireland.When the EU-UK negotiations start, the Government will pursue, together with our EU partners, an outcome that protects Ireland’s fundamental interests and an one that can be accepted by all. We are not under any illusions about the challenge and complexity of these negotiations and are engaged in detailed planning to prepare for them. As part of our preparations, I have met with all of my EU counterparts in order to make them aware of the need for specific arrangements which protect the key gains of the peace process on this island – a process to which the EU has already made a key contribution. Our concerns in relation to Northern Ireland are understood and appreciated and there is a general desire to assist in addressing them satisfactorily. In this regard, Commissioner Barnier’s clear statement in December that Irish issues would be a negotiating priority was very positive.

However, the negotiations have not even begun yet.

The Taoiseach discussed the imperative of the open border on the island of Ireland with Prime Minister May in Dublin on 30 January. I have also discussed these issues with the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, David Davis, and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, James Brokenshire.

The Government is preparing for and will be ready for all eventualities. Contingency planning began before the referendum last June and the necessary analysis has deepened across Government since then.

The Government will continue to comprehensively and proactively prepare for all dimensions of the EU-UK negotiations in pursuit of our priority concerns. In this regard, we will continue to engage with all of our EU partners and with the EU institutions, including the European Commission, to highlight the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland, and the consequences for North-South cooperation on the island as a whole, which must be factored into any new EU relationship with the UK.