A 70-page Bill, described as a piece of landmark legislation, has been designed to protect Ireland should the UK crash out of the European Union.
Some of the emergency provisions of the legislation include:
Health – Citizens will be to continue to access services in the other jurisdiction. This means the existing arrangements in relation to health services which currently operate between Ireland and the UK will continue to operate.
Energy – The Commission for the Regulation of Utilities will get the powers to deal with licences on an all-Ireland electricity network for one year.
Transport – Cross-border rail and bus services will continue to operate. These include regular scheduled services including school bus services, as well as occasional services such as sports club buses and tour buses.
Social welfare – Pensions and other benefits will continue to be paid meaning the legislation will protect hundreds of thousands of people. Some 132,000 people in Ireland receive social welfare payments from the UK and 28,000 people in the UK receive social welfare payments from the Republic of Ireland.
Justice – The current extradition system will see some changes to extradition arrangements between Ireland and the UK as it will no longer be part of the European Arrest Warrant system.
Businesses – Enterprise Ireland will be able to lend to businesses, particularly to vulnerable sectors.
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