The Order of Business is No. a1, motion re appointment of members to the Legal Service Regulatory Authority, referral to committee, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate, and No. 1, statements on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, to be taken at 4.45 p.m., with the contributions of group spokespersons not to exceed ten minutes and those all other Senators not to exceed eight minutes.

The Leader has outlined that we will discuss Brexit, which is the issue of the day. The fact that RTÉ is committing the entire day to the investigation of what Brexit will do on the Border, in particular, means it is appropriate that we would raise it on the Order of Business as well as having the discussion on it later. The most recent pie-in-the-sky proposal, which is akin to its having-their-cake-and-eating-it proposal by the British Government-----

Is it a pie or a cake?

It appears to be a pie, a cake and a dog's dinner all at the same time. This new idea of having customs checks within ten miles of the Border was planned at least a year ago when the British Government brought in legislation where it could introduce stop, search and seizure within ten miles of the Border. That legislation passed in the Houses of Commons in 2017. This is not something it has just dreamt up; this is something it has been planning. It proposes to have customs checks and infrastructure on a border that is 499 km long and has between 308 and 310 crossings, which means a crossing approximately every mile. Let us bear in mind that between the European Union and all the countries to the east of it, there are only 138 border crossings on a 6,000 km long border, yet somehow the UK Government believes that the border crossings on this island can be managed and patrolled successfully in a customs union and a Single Market.

It is simply undoable. The report from two UNESCO chairs is more important to note, as is the fact that President Obama's senior policy adviser on countering violent extremism stated that if there was a hard border as a result of Brexit, there would be a return to violence on this island. The only question is about the scale of the violence. That message has not got through to those at Westminster, or if it has, they do not care. They simply do not care who lives or dies as a result of Brexit, as, sadly, has been shown in British opinion polls.

I congratulate the Government. This is the only time the House will hear me do so. The introduction of history back into the curriculum with special status by the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy McHugh-----

It never left the curriculum.

Special status being granted means that it is now-----

Senator Mark Daly should continue to speak, without interruption.

Please allow him to make his point.

In fairness to him, it is an important point.

The Senator should not interrupt from that side of the House.

He should not interrupt me as I am praising the Government. Having history as a core subject has been Fianna Fáil's policy because people learn from history. It does not repeat itself so much as it rhymes and one has to spot the mistakes of the past. On German reunification Bismark said: “Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.” If we can look back and find out where people made mistakes in the past, we can learn from them. The study of history is vital in that regard.

I refer to the Moorhead report on the terms and conditions of councillors. We have seen a reduction in public representation throughout the country. The Moorhead report is on the Minister's desk, but the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform does not want it to be published because it would have to take action on the results and the budget is coming up. I ask the Leader to ensure the report is released before the budget is announced and that its recommendations, if appropriate, are actioned.

I remind Senators that we will have statements on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, a fuller name for Brexit, later this afternoon. They might want to conserve their energy for that debate.