What Simon Coveney said about checks

Tánaiste Simon Coveney and Minister Shane Ross were talking privately at the end of a press briefing without realising the microphone was still on:

Shane Ross:

“Yeah. The border one, should I not have said that?”

This is a reference to a question Mr Ross was asked about whether a truck travelling from Scotland by boat to Larne could then proceed to the Republic without any checks. During the press briefing, he replied: “I would anticipate that there would be checks.”

Simon Coveney:

“Yes, but we can’t get into where they’ll be at this stage. They could be in the sea, they could be... But once you start talking about checks anywhere near the border, people will start delving into that and all of a sudden we’ll be the government that reintroduced a physical border on the island of Ireland.”

Shane Ross:

“Yeah, but I didn’t know what to say.”

the way to deal with the Border issue is what has been agreed after two years of trying to find the most sensible way of doing this,” he said.

The Government has repeatedly sought to play down EU rules which indicate it would be our responsibility to protect the single market when Ireland becomes a land frontier for the EU post-Brexit.

Publicly, the Tánaiste said a new side deal between Ireland and the UK – involving several agreements – has been hammered out in order to maintain the common travel area (CTA).

The CTA allows free movement of citizens between the two countries and provides for social protection and the ability of students to study in both Ireland and the UK.

Mr Coveney confirmed deals have been reached on education, social protection and healthcare, with all “ready to go” as part of a bilateral deal between the two countries.

This will ensure the benefits of current arrangement continue “deal or no deal”.