Recent statements, particularly from Mr. Michel Barnier and Commissioner Phil Hogan, have indicated that there will be a border if Britain leaves the customs union and Single Market. On 9 February, Mr. Barnier stated:

It is important to tell the truth. A UK decision to leave the Single Market and to leave the customs union would make border checks unavoidable.

Commissioner Hogan stated: "The best Ireland can do is to expect the worst and prepare accordingly."

The Taoiseach will agree that the United Kingdom Government has been consistent and unambiguous for some time, particularly going back to the Lancaster House and Florence speeches by Prime Minister May, that it will not be staying in the customs union or Single Market. Inevitably, that means a form of agreement that will be damaging to Ireland and Border checks.

In today's The Irish Times, it is reported that Prime Minister May asked the Taoiseach to participate in shaping such a final status agreement between Britain and the European Union. That agreement, if Britain is to remain consistent on staying out of the customs union and Single Market, has significant implications for Ireland. It has been reported that the British Prime Minister asked the Taoiseach to participate in shaping a final status agreement without invoking the default arrangement that would keep Northern Ireland closely aligned with EU rules. In December, the clear presentation of the December agreement was that, irrespective of what transpired, full alignment of Northern Ireland with EU rules was guaranteed and there would be no border.

People may argue that the December deal was overhyped and oversold and that certain interests might have been undermined or spooked in their responses, in particular unionism, but it is unquestionable that we are in an uncertain situation. Will the Taoiseach confirm whether it is true that the British Prime Minister has requested Ireland's assistance on a final status deal? Given that Britain has consistently said that it will not be in the customs union or Single Market, does the Taoiseach now accept the view of Mr. Barnier and Commissioner Hogan that this inevitably means Border checks?

Brexit is a complicated negotiation, but our objectives are very simple. Our first and overriding objective is to ensure that we continue to have free movement of people and free trade, not just North and South, but also between Britain and Ireland. The best way for that to be achieved would be for the United Kingdom to stay in the Single Market and the customs union. It has indicated that it is not willing to do that, so the best alternative in that context is that we try to negotiate a deep and comprehensive free trade agreement that also covers customs. The Deputy will see from the British papers that, while they do not talk about a customs union, they do talk about a customs union partnership. Perhaps there might not be such a big difference between a customs union and a customs union partnership. That is the option A that was laid out in the December joint report.

Yes, we have been asked by the British authorities to work with them at official levels on how that might be achieved, but of course all negotiations will have to be done through the Barnier task force. We have made that abundantly clear. That is the objective - to make sure that people can continue to travel freely between Britain and Ireland and North and South, and that our businesses, particularly those that may be most exposed - those in aviation, the agrifood sector and farmers - do not face tariffs, non-tariff barriers and new barriers to trade, not just North and South, but between Britain and Ireland.

However, what we have in the joint report of December is a guarantee - a commitment - that a hard border will be avoided. The backstop in that arrangement, or the last resort as the Prime Minister prefers to call it, is a special arrangement for Northern Ireland whereby Northern Ireland will retain and maintain full regulatory alignment with the European Union. Our objective now is to make sure that is written into the withdrawal agreement. We achieved what we wanted to achieve in phase 1. Now what we need to do in phase 2 is make sure that that is written into the withdrawal agreement, a legally binding agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union that is now under negotiation.

Never mind December, I will just give the Deputy what was agreed two weeks ago in black and white as part of our European Union guidelines - the Barnier guidelines - for negotiation:

The European Council ... made clear that negotiations in the second phase could only progress as long as all commitments undertaken during the first phase were respected in full and translated faithfully in legal terms as quickly as possible. During the second phase of the negotiations, an overall understanding on the framework for the future relationship of the Union with the United Kingdom should also be reached. For that purpose, the European Council decided that it would adopt additional guidelines on this framework in March 2018 and called for further clarity on the United Kingdom's position on the framework for the future relationship...

During the second phase of the negotiations, in view of the unique circumstances and specific nature of issues related to the island of Ireland, the work on detailed arrangements required to give effect to the principles and commitments set out in the Joint Report should continue in a distinct strand.

This is the document that we have agreed among the EU 27 as to how we are now proceeding in a distinct strand to deal with those Irish-specific issues while also very clearly insisting and demanding that the commitments and guarantees that were given to us in December are now reflected in full in the legal withdrawal agreement. That is where we are at the moment.

Forgive me, Taoiseach, but most people thought from the presentation before Christmas that that was all sealed and delivered. For example, one headline read: "Taoiseach spells it out: no hard border, no matter what".

I wish to focus on a point regarding the final status agreement to which the Taoiseach referred. The Copenhagen Economics report is clear in that a customs union-type deal - Britain would not be in the customs union - would be damaging to Ireland in terms of GDP potentially being as much as 4% less than would otherwise be the case. One perspective that could be put on this is that we are now being sucked into negotiations with Britain that will result in a final status agreement that will by definition be damaging to Ireland - I accept that Brexit in almost all scenarios will be damaging to Ireland and arguably to Britain as well - and inevitably mean Border checks. Is that not the reality? If Britain has consistently said that it will stay out of the customs union and the Single Market, anything less than membership of these will involve Border checks of some form. Does the Taoiseach not accept that this is the practical outcome of such a final status agreement? There will be full alignment during transition. We get that, but after transition and a status agreement has been finalised between the EU and the UK, if Britain does not remain in the customs union and Single Market, it will involve Border checks. Is Mr. Barnier not correct in saying that? Does the Taoiseach accept his position on that?

In relation to what other people may believe or may surmise, I cannot be accountable for that. What I can be accountable for is what is agreed and what is written down in black and white. People can read the December joint report for themselves, and they can also read the guidelines from only two weeks ago, which I have read out to the Deputy today. That is what I will be accountable for - what we actually agreed to in black and white.

If it is the case that the United Kingdom decides to leave the customs union and Single Market and does not replace them with a new arrangement that is very similar or close to them, be it a deep free trade agreement plus a customs arrangement or a customs union partnership, as the UK calls it, it is inevitable in those circumstances that there will be checks between Ireland and Britain. However, it is in that scenario-----

What happened to "bullet proof"?

-----that we trigger the backstop, that we trigger what is there in the joint report from December, which is not just for the transition, but on an ongoing basis, a special unique arrangement-----

How does that work?

-----for Northern Ireland-----

The Taoiseach is changing accounts.

What about the Border?

Quiet, please.

-----that maintains full alignment. That is now what we are seeking-----

-----to be written into the legal text of the withdrawal agreement, but I think if there is a misunderstanding or difference of opinion here, it seems to me that the preferred outcome for Fianna Fáil and the preferred outcome for Sinn Féin is that we only have a special arrangement with Northern Ireland that allows-----

Allows for proper use.

-----that border to be avoided and that they would be happy to accept-----

The Taoiseach's time is up.

-----a border between Britain and Ireland, barriers to trade between Dublin and Holyhead and between Rosslare and Fishguard. That is what we are trying to avoid.

The Taoiseach's time is up.

We never said that.

We do not want borders between east and west any more than we want borders between the North or South.

We got sold a pup.

He sold us a pup.

I do not want a border between Dundalk and Newry any more than I want a border between Dublin and Holyhead or between Rosslare and Fishguard. Of course we are trying to get to a point, working with the British and negotiating as part of the European Union, where we avoid new barriers to trade and new barriers to the movement between Britain and Ireland.

Thank you, Taoiseach.

That backstop is there. We are insisting that the backstop be written into the withdrawal agreement.

The Taoiseach's time is up.

I asked the Taoiseach a question.

The guidelines we have from two weeks ago allow for that.

We have been very supportive of the Government.

I call Deputy Pearse Doherty.

The Taoiseach should acknowledge that. That kind of partisanship ill serves us.

The Deputies have been pretty unsupportive, quite frankly.