As we speak, the British Prime Minister is flying to Berlin to persuade Angela Merkel not to dismiss out of hand what we expect to emerge from the discussion of the British Cabinet tomorrow, which is a hybrid of the two previous ideas - an emphasis on non-existent new technology and some aspects of a customs partnership.

Let us be clear. The bulletproof arrangement that we understood to be in place since last December is not there. The Austrian Prime Minister has announced a pre-October summit to be held in September on the issue of migration because that is the theme of his Presidency. Will the Tánaiste use his good offices to ensure the issue of the Irish Border is included in the September special Council so we do not face into October in a perilous situation?

I spent the day in London yesterday and met five British Ministers who will all be involved in what I understand will be quite an intensive debate tomorrow on trying to stabilise and firm up a British approach towards these negotiations, which we have been awaiting for quite a long time. The issues the Deputy has raised will be part of that discussion but there will also be other elements to the discussion. I think and hope we will have a much clearer picture early next week of the British Government's approach to these negotiations because many of the red lines that have been outlined to date are somewhat contradictory in terms of the solutions we need to find.

Is the Tánaiste telling us he is optimistic?

We can only judge when we see the outcome of the meeting and we should not take anything for granted. There is clearly a divided Cabinet. I believe the meeting of the British Cabinet that takes place tomorrow, which is a day-long meeting on Brexit only, will be a significant discussion. We will have to judge the outcomes when we see what they are.