The Senator has gone from discussing soccer to discussing Brexit.

At 11 a.m. on 29 March 2019, the UK will leave the European Union. President Obama used to talk about hope one can believe in and certainly one could believe in that kind of hope. The British Government's policy seems to be simply hope. However, it is not hope one can believe in because they do not have a plan.

Tomorrow, the British foreign affairs committee will come here and its chairman will visit the Border for the first time. The British have no plan when it comes to Brexit. They seem to be going against the customs union and the Single Market that would allow the Border to remain open. They do not want a special status for Northern Ireland and yet somehow they hope that magically it will all work out. In 499 days that policy of hope, without anything to back it up, will certainly not work.

The extra time is up, Senator.

I want to give an example-----

Penalties, a Chathaoirligh.

-----of how hope is not a policy.

Go away now.

Honda manufactures cars in England. As many as 320 trucks arrive at its factory every day. Honda only has 15 minutes worth of stock at any one time so a delay of one hour in production will cost €880,000. How does the British Government think that having no Border policy-----

The Senator's time is up and he has scored nothing.

-----for the North, or any border policy, is a policy? Hope is simply not a policy.

We welcome the Irish Government's policy of 100 points that Leo Varadkar has put out. The Government needs to send a message to the British Government that it has not done enough to clarify the issues on the North and that discussions cannot be moved forward until such time as the North is sorted first.

Go raibh maith agat.

I thank the Cathaoirleach.

The Senator got penalty time and injury time. I call Senator McDowell.