Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said no one can say for sure what will happen at the border in the event of a no-deal Brexit because he said no one can say what approach the UK will take.
Speaking during Leaders Questions, Mr Varadkar said the Government would hold the UK to existing commitments in the Good Friday Agreement and to those made in December 2017 to maintain full regulatory alignment.
He said talks with the Commission on the issue had been happening at an official level on exploring what contingencies could exist.
He was responding to the Fianna Fail leader Michael Martin who asked the Taoiseach about the extent of the discussions between the Government and the European Commission on the border in the event of a no deal.
The Taoiseach also said the ESRI report published today, is a reminder of the stark consequences that Brexit will have for Ireland.
However, he said that the report shows that the economy will continue to grow in the event of a no deal Brexit but not as fast as anticipated.
He said public finances would deteriorate but not as much as it did ten years ago.
Mr Varadkar said we should not underestimate how serious a no deal Brexit would be for some vulnerable sectors like the agri-food sector and tourism - which he said would need the most support in the event of no deal.
He said legislation was in place to support Irish citizens in the event of a no deal but he said he hopes it is not needed.
Deputy Martin said a no-deal Brexit should be avoided at all costs.
The Taoiseach also said if Ireland ends up in a no-deal Brexit scenario there's no amount of Government support to businesses that can make everything ok.
He said it would still be "bad" but that the damage could be mitigated substantially by protecting incomes and jobs.
He said this would be done by providing funding to vulnerable businesses to restructure and provide new products and services.
Mr Varadkar said there would be loans, seminars and grants made available to help these businesses in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
He said there was a €200 million rescue and restructuring fund for businesses and there would be other instruments for farming and fishermen in the event of a no deal.
However, Mr Varadkar said this would be borrowed money and that Ireland would be going from surplus into deficit to protect jobs and livelihoods.
The Taoiseach was responding to Labour Leader Brendan Howlin who asked how much money had been approved for state aid funding in the event of a no deal Brexit by the EU to date.
Deputy Howlin called on the Government to make at least €500m available to the new Brexit preparation fund.
He said if a hard Brexit happened there should be no legal impediment to support and maintain jobs in the economy.
