I spoke with the British Prime Minister last night and reiterated the common position of all of us here, which is that the basic protections afforded to Ireland in the withdrawal agreement, particularly the backstop, are non-negotiable and cannot be unpicked or diluted. I spelled out to her the need to ensure that the commitments agreed in last December's joint report by British and EU negotiators are honoured. That means no hardening of the Border on the island of Ireland, that citizens' rights are protected, and that the Good Friday Agreement is upheld in its entirety.

In December the Taoiseach said that he had a cast-iron guarantee. He said that he had "achieved what we sought to achieve" in respect of avoiding a hard border. He said what we had was "rock solid" and "politically bulletproof". In the midst of the deepening crisis at Westminster I am afraid to say that those words no longer hold. On Monday Mrs. May shelved her plan to hold a vote on the withdrawal agreement at Westminster and today she faces a vote of no confidence in her leadership. That is a matter for herself. What we need to be concerned with and what is our business is ploughing our furrow.

On the concerns around our ports and around investment in them, I am glad that the needs of Rosslare have finally dawned on the Taoiseach. The need for sectoral planning is unanswerable. We also now need to look at any prospect of a no deal scenario or crash come March. I will emphasise that this is not something anybody here, including Sinn Féin in particular, wants to see. When I and others asked the Taoiseach yesterday about contingency planning for a crash scenario, he said "preparations involve a number of elements including the hiring of staff such as customs' staff, veterinary inspectors [and] environmental health inspectors". That is all very well and good but, as we all know, a crash-out Brexit would be catastrophic for our island. It would rupture our economy, our social fabric, and our peace accords. The contingency planning required therefore goes well beyond the recruitment of additional officials.

I reminded Mrs. May last night that, in the event of a no deal situation arising, it is the strong view of Sinn Féin that a referendum on unity must be advanced as a matter of urgency and priority. Of course she disagrees with that because she is a unionist. That is fair enough, but the Taoiseach is Head of Government here. He should accept that Irish unity is the logical, sensible option to avoid the calamity of a crash or no deal scenario and everything that would entail for our island in the short and long term. I put it to the Taoiseach that in a situation in which the Good Friday Agreement is to be disregarded, a crash situation, we need to go back to the agreement and its provisions for a referendum on Irish unity. Giving the people their say would be the ultimate contingency plan.

The Deputy correctly quoted what I said in December on the joint report and on the agreement we struck between the EU and the UK last December. I also said that we had to be vigilant and that we would be. We have been. I also said that the next step was to turn that joint report we agreed last December into a legally binding withdrawal agreement. For months and months I heard critics in this House tell me and the Government I lead that we oversold the deal that was made in December. We did not. It, including the Irish protocol, was translated faithfully into the legal text of the withdrawal agreement as we promised would happen. The next step is to secure ratification by Westminster and the European Parliament. That is still possible. That is what we are working on now. We will have a meeting of the European Council on Thursday and Friday. It will be an opportunity to engage with Prime Minister May and for me to speak to my colleagues. Indeed I will be taking a call from President Juncker later today to see what assurances we can give the United Kingdom Parliament that might assist it in ratifying the withdrawal agreement. That cannot mean a change in the substance of that agreement, including the substance of the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, however. That is what we are going to work towards.

I do not believe that now is the time for us to start talking about Border polls. I understand the perspective of the Deputy's party, which is committed to the territorial unity of this island. That is an aspiration that most of us in this House share but this is not the time to go about it. There are people in Northern Ireland who know that the backstop is a good deal for them. That is why it is being supported by business, farmers and many civil society organisations in Northern Ireland. To now inject a constitutional dimension into this debate would be destructive and disruptive because there are people who are arguing against this agreement precisely because they believe that having special arrangements around regulations for goods somehow weakens the union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. We know that is not the case. There are many special arrangements for Northern Ireland already. In so many areas, from social policy through to agricultural regulations, Northern Ireland is already different from Great Britain. Another example is that, before the institutions were brought down, they were seeking autonomy over corporation tax. Northern Ireland can have differences and still be part of the United Kingdom just as there are differences between all the countries in the European Union. I really do not believe that stirring up tensions in Northern Ireland or turning this issue into one of orange versus green is at all helpful at this time.

I agree with the Taoiseach that would not be a helpful thing to do. As he well knows, that is something which we have not done. In fact, considerable and very fruitful efforts have been made to ensure cross-community and cross-party support for a consensus against Brexit in the North. Brexit is a British Tory invention. All this disruption and tension is not of our making or of the making of anyone in this House. It is of the making of the Tories across the water.

The Taoiseach talks about relying on a vote at Westminster and the safe passage of the withdrawal agreement. That may or may not occur. Let me emphasise again that I do not want want to see a crash, no more than the Taoiseach does. However, I also want to say to the Taoiseach, as Head of Government with the responsibility to advance Irish national interests and to protect everyone on this island, North and South, east and west, that he now has to plan and prepare for such an unfortunate scenario with eyes wide open. Rather than evading his responsibilities by talking up disruption or disruptive forces, he needs to look this dilemma squarely in the eye.

If there is a no-deal Brexit, all bets are off as regards the Good Friday Agreement. All bets are off in terms of economic prosperity, social cohesion and solidarity. Rather than advancing this plan as something that is hostile to any of our people, the Taoiseach needs to understand it as an absolute necessity. In the event of a crash, we need a strong, robust plan B. The only viable plan B is the removal of the Border – the removal of the gash across our island. Has the Taoiseach planned for this contingency? Are plans under way? People need to hear reassuring words from him that he is planning in accordance with the Good Friday Agreement to allow people the opportunity to make a call, ultimately, perhaps between the union with Britain and membership of the European Union?

We are trying to avoid a scenario in which the UK, including Northern Ireland, crashes out of the EU. That means ratifying the withdrawal agreement which the EU and the UK Government agreed. Twenty-eight Governments have signed up to that agreement. The best thing the Deputy can do to avoid that scenario occurring, and to avoid disruption to businesses and the loss of jobs, particularly in Northern Ireland and the Border counties, is for Sinn Féin to take up its seats in Westminster and vote for that withdrawal agreement.

It is.

How naive is the Taoiseach.

The second best thing Deputy McDonald can do is bring together the institutions that were established under the Good Friday Agreement.

The Taoiseach got his answer on that one.

The Taoiseach is embarrassing himself now.

It is not a laughing matter. It is no joke for the people who lose their jobs.

Allow the Taoiseach respond, please.

These are the things that Deputy McDonald can do.

Can we have order?

Rather than asking me and the Government I lead about our preparations for-----

For unity.

-----hypothetical scenarios, the best thing the Deputy can do is to do what she can do – take her party’s seats in Westminster, vote for the withdrawal agreement, get the Assembly meeting again and establish an Executive in Northern Ireland.

Is that it?

It is always somebody else's job.

Can we have order, please?