Leo Varadkar and Emmanuel Macron to discuss Brexit and Europe’s future

Mr Varadkar and Mr Macron will hold a full bilateral meeting at the Élysée Palace, their first such meeting, to examine any possible common ground on the impact of the United Kingdom leaving the EU.

The meetings come just a few days after European leaders decided not to progress Brexit talks due to a failure of the British government to provide sufficient detail.

Meanwhile, a border Fianna Fáil councillor has called for “a hard border to be implemented to protect our local and national economy and to protect the influx migration entering Europe in my country, Europe’s back door”.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Dundalk councillor Emma Coffey called “for the people of Ireland and particularly in border counties to come to the realisation that Ireland faces a hard border with Northern Ireland”.

Cllr Coffey said she was speaking in the context of “the continuing lacklustre approach undertaken by the British government and the Irish government’s failure to fully Brexit-proof Ireland”.

“We have heard ridiculous utterings from the British prime minister, as she seeks to out-bluff her party members with nonsensical remarks that have now reduced important issues of Brexit and its impact on Ireland to nothing more than a bluffing game.

“As someone who works and lives in border counties we face a daily diet of falsehoods and it is time for us all to come to realise that a hard border is going to fall on us and we will all have to suffer the consequences. It is impossible for the EU to monitor our 500 km border with the vast labyrinth of 300 crossings, more than in Norway or Switzerland.

“I believe that in light of this situation FF should call it as it is, and state that a hard border must be implemented to protect not just our national integrity but also our rights as European citizens.”

A Fianna Fáil spokesperson said: “Fianna Fáil’s position on this could not be clearer — we are opposed to the imposition of a hard border and the reintroduction of customs controls.

“We have been calling for the creation of a special economic zone in Northern Ireland in order to prevent the imposition of a hard border. Fianna Fáil will continue to push the Government on this issue and work with our colleagues in the EU to prevent the emergence of a hard border.”