Taoiseach to present contingency plans for ‘no-deal’ Brexit to government today
Enhanced contingency plans to allow Irish ports and airports to deal with a ‘no-deal’ Brexit are to be brought to Cabinet by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, it has emerged.
Mr Varadkar is to table the latest plans in the next 10 days to deal with a no deal Brexit, but Government sources have insisted these do not include planning for a hard border with the North.
Every department has been asked to look at what would be needed and these worse case scenario plans, the sources said, are primarily dealing with a border along the Irish Sea.
The Government insisted these preparations are “east-west” as opposed to “north-south”, but the Irish Examiner understands all scenarios are being planned for.
Mr Varadkar and British prime minister Theresa May held a 30-minute meeting on the fringes of the EU Council summit in Brussels, during which the Taoiseach outlined his disappointment at the lack of progress on the Irish backstop.
Looking forward to constructive meeting with @theresa_may and @HMcEntee on #Brexit. Good to meet up again and lots to discuss pic.twitter.com/w2VUBLq9mw
— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) June 28, 2018
“We did expect that we would make more progress, or any progress really,” he said. “We expected there would be progress at this summit in June, like there was in March, like there was in December. There hasn’t been.
"We all need to intensify our efforts now. There can be no withdrawal agreement without an agreement on the Irish backstop.”
It is likely that a series of talks between the EU and Britain will occur during the summer and into September in a bid to try and resolve the Irish issue ahead of October’s deadline.
Already. the leaders have agreed to convene a meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, in a bid to restart the Stormont administration. It will take place on July 25.
Pleased to confirm a British Irish Intergovernmental Conference has been agreed between both Governments for 25th July, London. This is an important Good Friday Agreement structure for dialog and consultation and will have an agenda dealing with East/West and NI issues @rtenews
— Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) June 28, 2018
EC president Jean Claude Juncker called on Mrs May to make her position clear.
“As far as Ireland is concerned, I would like them to give a final, definite response to the Irish border problem,” he said. “I wouldn’t like us to be in a situation where the last remaining problem would be the Irish one.”
