Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has called on EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier to give Ireland a veto over the final negotiations on Britain leaving the European Union,
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Mr Barnier also received criticism from socialist and left-wing TDs who hit out at "fortress Europe" and its policies that had inflicted pain on Irish citizens during and after the financial crash.
Mr Adams said the North of Ireland needed to be given a "special designated status" only so the entire island of Ireland would remain within the European Union.
Any restrictions between the North and South of Ireland because of Brexit would also represent a "hardening of the border", warned the Sinn Féin leader.
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams says that the challenges of Brexit for Ireland should be met on 'an all island basis.' pic.twitter.com/4FnoMvSZsg
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) May 11, 2017
Solidarity-PBP Richard Boyd Barrett said he and other TDs were opponents to forces in Europe, including Mr Barnier.
He mentioned 250 refugees who died while trying to cross the Mediterranean in recent days.
Mr Boyd Barrett also reminded Mr Barnier of the threat by EU banking officials that a bomb would have gone off in Dublin if Ireland had previously burnt bondholders after the crash.
The EU had "crippled" Ireland's attempts to overcome the crash, he argued.
The Dun Laoghaire TD said he did not trust Mr Barnier and that the EU was still imposing hardship on Greece, Italy and Spain among others,