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Ireland is not adequately prepared for a no-deal Brexit, the Fianna F\u00e1il leader has claimed.<\/p>\nIreland is not adequately prepared for a no-deal Brexit, the Fianna F\u00e1il leader has claimed.<\/p>\n
Miche\u00e1l Martin said the Government was not ready should the UK crash out of the EU at the end of March, despite its no-deal Brexit contingency planning.<\/p>\n
The Government published a wide range of laws on Friday that will be enacted if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.<\/p>\n
Discussing the legislation outside Leinster House, Mr Martin described the UK\u2019s withdrawal from the EU as the most severe threat to Irish society in over a decade.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019re adequately prepared for a no-deal Brexit\u2026 the Government perhaps thought they would have a deal earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Martin added that the Government would not have been in the position to publish the legislation if Fianna F\u00e1il had pulled the plug on the confidence and supply deal as some other political parties had urged him to do.<\/p>\n
Last year Fianna F\u00e1il re-entered into a confidence and supply arrangement with Fine Gael to ensure the continuation of the minority government as the country prepared for Brexit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wouldn\u2019t be in a position to enact this legislation if I didn\u2019t take the position I took and the party didn\u2019t take the position it took to continue with the confidence and supply,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of hot air out there from some quarters about preparing for Brexit and being ready for Brexit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reality is Fianna F\u00e1il had to take the hard decision before Christmas, in my view the correct decision, to continue with confidence and supply, give the Government space in terms of the negotiations around Brexit but also to prepare for any eventualities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Fianna F\u00e1il leader made the comments ahead of the party\u2019s national annual conference in Dublin on Saturday.<\/p>\n
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood will address the conference in Dublin\u2019s Citywest.<\/p>\n
It is the first national meeting since Fianna F\u00e1il and the SDLP announced a partnership in late January.<\/p>\n