The European Union has this afternoon published the draft of its Brexit withdrawal agreement. We have only had sight of the text in the past 45 minutes and we will have to study the precise detail in the coming hours. However, having scanned the draft document, I welcome that the European Union now explicitly accepts that special arrangements are required for the North. As the Taoiseach knows, since the Brexit referendum, Sinn Féin has argued consistently and vigorously for the North to be designated special status within the European Union. We stated this was the only way to avoid the imposition of a hard border on this island and ensure the all-island economy and peace agreements are protected. Special status means the North remaining inside the customs union and Single Market. We now have a draft text that recognises that the North must stay in the customs union and I welcome that recognition. I also voice concern at any prospect of the North exiting the Single Market and concerns remain for east-west trade and commerce.

As the Taoiseach knows, the British Government and Brexiteers engaged in their Brexit debate with zero regard for the impact on Ireland. They showed no concern for our economy, the rights of our people or the peace process. They now want to conclude their debate and make their exit by putting the Good Friday Agreement through the shredder. The Tory-DUP axis is satisfied to treat the welfare of the people of this island as collateral damage so long as it can achieve a little Englander Brexit. Its arrogance is best highlighted by the rejection of the vote of the people of the North to remain in the European Union and crystallised most recently in the juvenile and dangerous commentary of the British Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson.

The DUP has explicitly hitched itself to the Tory wagon. It has put narrow political interests ahead of the good of the people of the North from all communities, our economic well-being and the political process. The position of the Tory-DUP Brexiteers is that they want Brexit at any cost. However, they will not foot the bill. Rather, it will be the ordinary people of this island, North and South, who foot the bill and that cannot be allowed to happen. The Tory-DUP wrecking agenda cannot prevail. As Head of Government, it is the Taoiseach's job to ensure this does not happen. There is no doubt in my mind that the British Government will attempt to undermine the text of the draft agreement in the time ahead. In the context of the DUP's collapsing of the talks in the North, I asked that the Taoiseach convene the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference. Today's development adds weight to the need for this to be done. Will the Taoiseach convene the intergovernmental conference?

The intergovernmental conference can be convened only at a date that is agreed by both the British and Irish Governments and such a date has not yet been agreed. That is not to say that we are not in regular contact, however. I have spoken twice on the telephone to Prime Minister May in the past ten days and we have also met in person.

I recognise the constructive and measured approach taken by the Deputy's party to the Brexit issue in recent months. What we have seen today is the publication of the draft withdrawal agreement by the European Commission. The first thing the Government sought at the time of the Brexit referendum was a commitment from the UK Government that there would be no hard border and that eventuality would be avoided. We got such a verbal commitment some time ago under the leadership of my forebear, Deputy Enda Kenny. In December, we sought to have this commitment turned into a commitment in a political agreement and it was written down in black and white in the December text. Most reasonable people will now accept, even though others said otherwise, that it was not over-hyped or oversold. People will see the reality of that today in a legal text, a protocol to the draft withdrawal agreement, that sets out exactly in black and white how we can avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland and how we can enforce that legally. That has been done and the text has been published today. A briefing will be available later today for Opposition leaders and spokespersons if they wish to have one.

It is not the case that this is the only option. This is the backstop and last resort, as Prime Minister May describes it. There are alternative solutions. The alternative solution is option A, which is our preferred option and the preferred option of the British Government, that involves us avoiding not just a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland but also a hard border between Britain and Ireland. I do not want a border between Letterkenny and Derry any more than I want a border between Larne and Stranraer or Liverpool and Dublin. We want people and trade to be able to move freely. Option A is still an option. It is now incumbent on the United Kingdom Government, in particular, to put forward detailed proposals on how it can be achieved or put forward the detail of option B.

The Deputy is correct that hard line Brexiteers and some politicians in Northern Ireland will say "No" and will be angry at what they see today but just saying "No" and being angry is not enough. If people do not like what they see today, it is incumbent on them to come up with alternative solutions and to flesh out option A and option B, write it down in a legal form that can be enforced and then we can negotiate on that. We have between now and October to make those decisions.

With regard to the different messages that may be coming from UK Government, when I want to know what it thinks, I listen to Prime Minister May. I have spoken to her on three occasions in the past ten days. She tells me that her government stands by its commitment to avoid a hard border and it is steadfast in its support for the Good Friday Agreement. I trust Prime Minister May on both of those counts.

The Taoiseach will recognise, as I do, that the rhetoric has changed for the worst substantially since last December and that the commitment made initially to no hard border and to protecting the agreement in all its parts has come unstuck because the reality is that members of the Tory Government are openly speculating that the agreement is past its sell-by date and that a hard border is not only necessary but, indeed, desirable to achieve the kind of Brexit they require. It would be remiss of us, and it would be remiss of the Taoiseach as Head of Government, to miss those clear soundings.

The best methodology to provide a backstop to protect the island as a whole and to protect the agreement is the convening of the intergovernmental conference. The Taoiseach has stalled on his response to that. In the absence of that, how does the Taoiseach propose to engage the British Government and the British system to ensure we get back to a position of unanimity regarding no border at all on the island of Ireland, and respect and protection for the agreement?

I am happy to answer that. We engage the UK Government by meeting it all the time. In the past ten days, I have spoken twice to, and met once with, Prime Minister May. Last Monday, the Tánaiste met Mr. David Lidington who is the de facto deputy Prime Minister. We engage with them by meeting them face-to-face and talking to them on the phone and when we do not do that, our officials do it at official level, so there is regular contact.

When we negotiate with the UK on European matters and matters related to Brexit, we do so as part of the EU27 through the Barnier task force. It is demonstrable to everyone now that Ireland is in a much stronger position when we negotiate as one of 27 and as a Union of 27 rather than isolating ourselves and being on our own, and we will continue to do exactly that.

As Head of the Government, I stand by the primacy of the Good Friday Agreement. The Government is co-guarantor of the agreement and everyone in the House stands by it. I have heard some of the hardline Brexiteers who are not members of the British Government questioning the future of the agreement. These are the same people who say to us that we should respect the 51.8% vote in favour of their referendum for Brexit. I remind them that the Good Friday Agreement was approved by the Irish people - 94% in this State and 71% in Northern Ireland - and they should respect our vote too.