Statement from EU Affairs Committee Chairman Michael Healy Rae TD

“At a Special meeting of Joint Committees yesterday to engage with Mr Guy Verhofstadt, I said that I had hoped to see more practical and pragmatic solutions from the British side by now and I had hoped that they would come in the British Prime Minister’s address today in Florence.”

“While I welcome the Prime Minister’s clarity on the UK’s commitment to protect the Common Travel Area and to not put in place any physical infrastructure, I am disappointed that there is still no information on how the UK plans to do this. The Prime Minister was also clear that the UK will not join the Customs Union. So what we need now is practical and pragmatic solutions not aspirations. The smooth transport of goods across the border is vital.”

“The Prime Minister’s intention to honour budget commitments made during the period of the UK’s membership of the EU is very welcome. I am left wondering though whether this means honouring commitments made during that period that are paid out before the 29th March 2019 or if that intention also includes commitments made now for payment later. The current financial perspectives, for instance, run until 2020 and many of those commitments are already made. And some final payments for some projects will be made after that again. This might seem like a small question of words, but even this difference could have a significant impact financially.”