Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation
Dail Éireann — 2020-10-15
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Peter Fitzpatrick (IND), Louth

On behalf of Regional Group, I wish the Captain of the Guard, Mr. John Flaherty, the very best of luck in the future. I had the honour of serving in the Defence Forces with him back in the 1980s and representing the Defence Forces' GAA team in Australia. I wish him and his family the best of luck going forward.
Last month, the British Prime Minister set a deadline of 15 October for an agreement on the trade agreement with the EU, which is today. Given that the Prime Minister, Mr. Johnson, publicly stated that if we cannot agree it, he does not see there will be a free trade agreement between us and we should both accept that and move on, can the Tánaiste give the House an update on the negotiation?
Can the Tánaiste confirm that preparations are in place in the event of a no-deal Brexit and there will be no physical custom checks at the Border? Will cross-Border workers be affected? Will cross-Border agencies be affected? In the event of a no-deal Brexit, will we revert back to the WTO terms? I am in daily contact with many businesses along the Border which are extremely concerned that preparations are not in place for a hard border and we are sleepwalking into a dangerous and potentially damage situation.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2020-10-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:48:41+00:00
Sitting date: 2020-10-15