Discussions with the Irish Government

Part of 2. Questions to the Counsel General and Brexit Minister – in the Senedd at 2:31 pm on 16 January 2019.

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Photo of Jeremy Miles Jeremy Miles Labour 2:31, 16 January 2019

I thank the Member for that question. One of the points that requires clarification in the UK Government's proposals is its reference to checks being undertaken in the least intrusive possible way. That needs to be understood better. But the issue of the backstop, of course, if the sorts of proposals were adopted that we have been advocating here, would not arise. And whilst the backstop is an absolutely legitimate concern for the EU and UK Government to ensure that there isn't a hard border on the island of Ireland, the best possible scenario is that that isn't required at all because we have a set of arrangements that encompass a customs union between the UK and the EU.