Border customs posts and Employment Act briefing
Deputy Calleary raised a reported Revenue search for Border customs post locations and asked the Government to deny it, then also asked about briefing colleagues on minimum notice provisions. The Minister restated the Government’s commitment to avoiding a hard Border, and Calleary pressed again briefly before the Minister repeated that commitment.
There was a report by Daniel McConnell in yesterday's Irish Examiner which stated that Revenue was scouting for locations along the Border to re-establish customs posts. That would suggest the Government is throwing in the towel in respect of a hard Border. Can the Minister deny the report?
The Minister will be familiar with minimum notice provisions in the Employment Act. Does he have any plans to brief colleagues on that?
Comment on this
The Taoiseach made it very clear that he was wholly committed to making sure there would be no hard Border. He said yesterday that he had met with virtually all the leaders of Government across the EU to make a very strong case over the particular significance of this. It would be a huge backward step and he pledged that it would be top of the political agenda. This is not a technical issue, nor a customs issue. It is one he has recognised as being at the top of the political agenda.
Comment on this
The Government's commitment is absolutely clear.