Discussions with the Irish Government

Part of 2. Questions to the Counsel General and Brexit Minister – in the Senedd at 2:30 pm on 16 January 2019.

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Photo of David Rees David Rees Labour 2:30, 16 January 2019

Counsel General, I am pleased to hear that you are having meetings or arranging meetings with your Irish counterparts and discussing, because if we have a 'no deal' situation, or even a deal and the backstop kicks in, there will be a border down the Irish Sea, and we need to address that. But can I ask you also to meet with counterparts—I know we haven't got a counterpart, but equivalents in Northern Ireland? When I went across to speak to the parties in Northern Ireland, it was quite clear that a lot of businesses use the ports of the Irish Republic to actually access Europe through the Welsh ports. As such, there is going to be a huge challenge to that situation, whether they travel down through Dublin and on to Holyhead, or whether they go across into Scotland. It is important, therefore, that we address the issues for them as well, to ensure that, if there is a boundary in the Irish Sea, they don't end up having to cross two boundaries to get to Northern Ireland. And it impacts upon Welsh ports.