John Whelan: How one deal could lift tension at Irish Sea border       

It now appears that there are two key dates in October and January

Grace periods are currently in place for customs checks on parcels and medicines, as well as for supermarket goods and plants, from Britain to the North. 

Edwin Poots, the North's de facto first minister, has continued his posturing over the Northern Ireland Brexit protocol but it will be hard negotiations in Brussels and London that will determine the outcome of any new terms for the Irish Sea border. 

Business leaders north and south of the island meanwhile are getting on with it. 

Stephen Kelly, who heads up business body Manufacturing NI, said manufacturing sales to the EU have risen as northern exports continue to freely circulate into the rest of the EU, as well as into UK.

The North's food and drink exports also continue to benefit from the single market because of derogations, according to Michael Bell, the head of the industry group the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association.

However, firms in both these sectors fear a slew of regulatory issues coming down the line and maintain that more derogations and mitigations will be required.

The London government has now announced that most controls will not be introduced until next January, an effective postponement of six months. 

It now appears that there are two key dates: October for when health certificates will be needed for imports of products of animal origin and January when full "upfront" paperwork will be required, including customs declarations and UK safety and security declarations. 

Mr Kelly has warned that manufacturing will be weighed down by the mind-numbing rules of origin under the new regulations and more problems will emerge when they are fully implemented. 

"The Future of Food" was a report published last month by the food and drinks association.

It shows just how business is intertwined across the island in beef, poultry, milk and pig meat, and also shows the North exports over half of its agri-food stuffs to Britain. 

Mr Bell wants the Northern Ireland Executive to deliver capital grants to ensure the industry can continue to compete.

The Shared Island Fund, which was launched by Taoiseach Micheál Martin in October, could usefully take up the gap in northern funding out of its €500m fund. 

That fund was at the time hailed for ’’providing the resources to deliver on our commitment to build a shared island underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement". 

There is the more immediate issue of tackling what is the onerous customs checks. 

Mr Poots mentioned an anticipated 1,500 weekly customs checks when he visited Dublin last week. The checks include veterinary inspections when the full Brexit deal is implemented.

Grace periods are currently in place for customs checks on parcels and medicines, as well as for supermarket goods and plants, from Britain to the North. 

But they won't last forever and when removed have the potential to add to political tensions in the North.

The biggest hope for a breakthrough seems to be in a veterinary agreement, which Dublin supports, and could be struck "within a few weeks", according to the European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič. 

Experts say this new deal could mean 85% of the checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea between Britain and the North could be eliminated.