No, I will not. I have explained many times in much detail why I do not believe we can do that. I explained it to Senator Frances Black, who brought the legislation forward and for whom I have much time. I understand what she wants to achieve with the legislation, but, from a legal perspective, I do not believe that we can do what she is asking us to do. My view on the issue is backed up by the Attorney General. I have explained my position on this many times. It is also important for me to tell this House that I h…

I am unsure that what is needed now is to link US capitalism with the protests taking place across America. What is needed is for political and community leadership to stand up against racism and reassure those who feel they are victims of it that things will change for them. As I stated, I have a very good relationship with the US ambassador. We have the kind of relationship whereby we can speak very bluntly to each other. I also stated that, in my view, the US Government is in no doubt as to the position of the I…

I thank the Deputy for the compliments in regard to repatriation, particularly through our embassy in Washington, which got involved in a huge number of cases. With regard to his comments on the EU, the Deputy is right. While at election time we do not often get asked detailed EU institutional questions the truth is that many decisions that impact the lives of people in Ireland, whether fishermen, farmers or business people, are taken in Brussels as well as here. We need to have people in positions of influence and…

I thank the Deputy. They are all good questions. On passports, we essentially have not had the Passport Express system working. Decisions were made on the basis of a significant reduction in applications and because we needed to ensure the protection of our own staff in passport offices. That is why the focus has been on getting the online process back up and running. If somebody has put in an application under Passport Express and if they want to get their passport back quickly, they should apply online. From next…

We will do everything we can to support the post offices.

The arrangement regarding Shannon Airport has been in place for decades between both countries. It operates to a pretty clear protocol in terms of the conditions of the use of the airport. The Government does not have any proposals to change that. Regarding racism, the Taoiseach made comments yesterday and I made comments today. We will have an opportunity to have what I hope will be quite a lengthy debate on the matter next week in the House. I hope I will be able to speak to make very clear the Irish Government's…

The state aid issue is a probing and good question in terms of how states use new flexibility around state aid. Some countries have far more available resources than others to spend in the absence of strict state aid rules. Therefore, they could potentially create competitive advantage within the Single Market. That is a concern and something we need to watch closely. I can give Deputy Harkin a quick answer on the passport question. From next week on we should have the online passport application process working as…

That is fine. You were right to do it, Acting Chairman.

I move: That, notwithstanding anything in Standing Order 43 and until further notice in the 33rd Dáil, Questions under Standing Order 50(2)— ( a ) where put down before 11 a.m. on Tuesday 5th May, 2020, and not previously replied to, shall be replied to on Wednesday 13th May, 2020, and ( b ) otherwise, until 15th July, 2020— (i) must reach the Clerk not later than 11 a.m. on Wednesday 13th May, 2020, and not later than 11 a.m. on every Wednesday following that, (ii) shall be replied to on the seventh day following …

I welcome this opportunity to update Members of the House on the significant developments that have taken place over recent months in respect of Brexit, a process whose pace has not slackened in recent weeks and months, despite the unprecedented global Covid-19 crisis. The withdrawal agreement provides the basis for the immediate way ahead. It has put in place the transition period that runs to the end of this year. This means that the UK, though no longer an EU member, is treated as a member of the Single Market a…

There are some good questions there and I will try and answer them as directly as I can. The prospects for the next round of negotiations, on the basis of the evidence so far, are not good. Now that the Prime Minister is healthy again and making decisions, we must hope that he will instruct his negotiating team, through David Frost, to ensure that the negotiations on this matter, which start next week, will be more successful than those undertaken previously. The approaches being taken by the UK and EU sides are to…

I will try to answer some of the other questions when I am on my feet again.

I suspect the same questions may come up again and I will try to answer some of the ones that were asked.

I will come back to the Deputy on the last point. It is clearly a serious issue and we want to, and will, ensure childcare provision is made available for healthcare workers. If we have to intervene, then I am sure it will be looked at as a matter of urgency. This issue has been discussed for long enough now and it needs to be resolved. On the fishing industry, I was formerly a Minister with responsibility for fisheries and I understand the industry well. It is extremely vulnerable to the wrong outcome from Brexit …

What I am saying is fairly self-evident. We certainly need to try to achieve the right outcome and, in my view, more time is likely to be needed.

I have four and a half minutes so there is no excuse for me not to give answers. Climate change and environmental standards are a key part of the level playing field ask on behalf of the EU. A level playing field means ensuring that there is fair competition in the UK and in the EU if there is going to be free trade between both, be that in regard to workers' rights, environmental standards, food safety or consumer-based issues. From an EU perspective the main issues are environmental standards, climate standards a…

The Paris Agreement is part of it. I will try now to respond to some other questions I did not get to earlier. On the structure and the planning for a no-trade deal Brexit here, it will be a matter for the new Government but I suspect it will be managed predominantly by the Taoiseach's office in partnership with the office of the Tánaiste, as it was in the past in the build up to crisis points in Brexit. We collectively managed the preparation and communications, working with the Department of Business, Enterprise …

On solidarity, the answer is "Yes". I have good reason to believe that, having spoken to Michel Barnier and others across the EU. As chief negotiator, Michel Barnier has done an extraordinary amount of travelling in order to meet, talk to and persuade people that the approach we have taken on Brexit is the right one and that it is based on unity of purpose and solidarity. If that solidarity were to crack, our approach would become much more challenging. That is understood and there is a very strong sense of unity a…

We have spoken to the UK Government and we have spoken to many on the EU side. Let me be clear with the House, because it is important to be, that there is no hidden solution that will pop up in a few weeks' time. The UK Government's position is firm. Unless and until that changes, and we have not seen any evidence to suggest it is going to, and I want to be honest with everybody about that, at the moment the way I see it is that we are unlikely to see a request for an extension. Therefore, we will have to plan on …

By the way, of course we will have a democratic debate on any decision we take on Brexit because it is so fundamental-----