The Government has published proposals aimed at blunting the effects of a no deal Brexit this morning.
The Brexit omnibus bill will try to limit the damage done if the UK crashes out of Europe next month.
Tánaiste Simon Coveney said it's a "root and branch trawl of our laws" to figure out what changes are needed to deal with a no-deal Brexit.
He said the bill is aimed at maintaining what currently works.
However, he warned that a disorderly Brexit would still be a "lose, lose, lose" situation for the UK, the EU and Ireland.
“The backstop has to be there unless and until it’s replaced by something that does the same job, but that has to be a convincing arrangement that won’t result in border infrastructure.”
Tánaiste @simoncoveney speaks about 🇮🇪 position on the backstop and support from 🇪🇺 partners pic.twitter.com/19A2yv4flc— Brexit Ready Ireland (@BrexitReadyIRL) February 22, 2019
No-deal Brexit proposals
This bill has 15 parts covering nine government Departments and is one of the most wide-ranging pieces of legislation seen in the Oireachtas in the last few years.
It will aim to ensure the status quo for Irish and UK citizens when it comes to accessing healthcare, social welfare payments and employee protections.
The bill contains provisions to make sure buses and trains can still travel into Northern Ireland without needing to be stopped.
It aims to ease the impact on businesses - by making sure tax reliefs and allowances will continue as normal.
Measures are in there to make sure Irish students in the UK can access SUSI grants.
European Arrest Warrants won't apply to the UK after Brexit - so laws need to be tweaked to allow extradition both ways.
Tánaiste @SimonCoveney - A no deal Brexit will be a major shock for the Irish economy and the most important contingency we have is remaining a member of the EU with all of the security and support that will bring. @dfatirl @BrexitReadyIRL pic.twitter.com/pvr5J9W6DY
— MerrionStreet.ie (@merrionstreet) February 22, 2019
"We need to be ready"
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar explained: "We are doing all we can to avoid a no deal scenario, but we need to be ready in case it does happen.
This special law enables us to mitigate against some of the worst effects of no deal by protecting citizens’ rights, security, and facilitating extra supports for vulnerable businesses and employers.
This mammoth piece of legislation is going to dominate time in the Dáil and Seanad over the coming weeks.
And while the government hopes many of the measures will never actually be needed, this late in the game they need to prepare for all scenarios
