State must ensure EU has aid package for no-deal Brexit

THE Government’s plans to have no Border checks at the point of crossing will, I am sure, be music to the ears of smugglers.

That there are no checks for goods and services at the point of entry is contrary to the spirit and legality of the single market and the customs union.

It will create major difficulties for other EU states given their proximity to other non-EU nations, excluding those within the European Economic Area.

Those promoting Brexit don’t want regulatory alignment, they don’t want a backstop and they don’t want to pay the €39bn divorce bill, which is very much part of the EU’s agreement with the British government. They know the EU is not for tuning after years of negotiations, so the ball is firmly in their court.

Simon Coveney’s statement – “we are not going to put checks on the Border or close to it” – seems a little bit naive, if not foolhardy, given the other members states must also agree on how this European border is managed and manned.

While the October deadline looms, and Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt wrestle for control of the Conservative leadership and PM of the UK, it behoves Ireland to ensure jobs and businesses are buffered against any threat from the UK’s withdrawal, whether with or without a deal, and the EU has a financial package in place to compensate for any losses which Ireland will incur.

No one should be under any illusion of the long-term consequences of a “no deal” Brexit given Johnson’s buffoonery and lack of detail or Hunt’s laissez-faire approach to the consequences for the business sector.

Ireland as a nation must not be bullied into decision making that will set us back post the 2008 economic collapse, leaving us further in debt and leaving the taxpayer carrying the proverbial can. Christy Galligan Letterkenny, Co Donegal