Border won’t be fully solved before summit

The Irish border issue will not be fully resolved before a crunch meeting of EU leaders this month, the Tánaiste has told the Dáil.

However, Simon Coveney says talk of the Government using its veto “misunderstands the reality” that Ireland has the backing of all the EU states.

EU leaders are to gather in Brussels on December 14 with the hope of signing off on progress in Brexit talks to date to allow the second phase of negotiations begin.

Ireland received a major boost for its position as the head of the largest group in the European Parliament has said there can be no progress towards the second phase of the Brexit negotiations if Britain does not adequately address the border.

German MEP Manfred Weber, chair of the European People’s Party (EPP) of which Fine Gael is a member, said the Irish issue is of equal importance to the other key issues of Britain’s financial liabilities and the rights of EU citizens.

“It is for us absolutely clear that all three items — citizens’ rights, the question of the bill, and the question of NI — are equally treated,” he said.

“We are defending from now on the 440m EU citizens, and [not] British interests. That is very clear and that has to be understood in London as well. That means extremely concretely that Irish people are in our interest, and Irish interests are in our interest, and that’s why we are defending this,” he said.

He added: “We will not have all of the answers by the middle of December but we are looking for significantly more clarity that we currently have from the British negotiating team in order to support, with the other 26 countries and with Michel Barnier, the move to open phase two of the negotiations. I believe most people would like see phase two happen sooner rather than later given the uncertainty that remains in the absence of phase two beginning.”

Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said the Government now has “maximum leverage” and should not rule out using their veto “to secure the best comprehensive deal in our national interests”.

She said: “There is an effort in the British press and by the Tories to bounce us into some kind of vague, cobbled together deal, after which, I assume, they would move on without a second thought for Ireland, our peace agreement, or, indeed, our economy. There is a very real danger that the best interests of Irish citizens, North and South, will be sacrificed in order to allow Britain and the European Union to move ahead.”

Ms McDonald said there is a “clear impatience to move on to phase two”.

But Mr Coveney said he has spoken with the German foreign minister, the Luxembourg foreign minister, and Michel Barnier in the past week who reconfirmed their support for the Irish position.