Varadkar: 'We may have to live with no-deal Brexit’

Ireland could well have to live with the dire consequences of a no-deal Brexit for a while, despite its devastating consequences, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has conceded for the first time.

Mr Varadkar yesterday spelled out in graphic terms the potential impact of a no-deal on Ireland’s economy.

“If there is no-deal — and I believe there is a possibility we may have to live with no-deal for a period — then at a certain point we will have to begin negotiations again,” he said.

“The first and only items on the agenda for such negotiations will be citizens’ rights, the financial settlement with the EU, and a solution to the Irish border — all the issues we spent the last two years on.”

He was speaking hours after British prime minister Boris Johnson said he would “rather die in a ditch than ask for a delay” to Brexit as the likelihood of a general election in the UK in October escalated significantly.

The Taoiseach has warned that, even if the UK does hammer out a Brexit deal, negotiations around a free trade agreement and other matters would be “fraught”, making the talks up to now seem “simple”.

Mr Varadkar told some 450 people attending the British Irish Chamber of Commerce annual gala dinner in Dublin last night:

There will be difficult debates and even more difficult decisions to be made on tariffs, customs, quotas, product standards, State aid, minimum standards for the environment and workers, visa regimes, and not forgetting fishing rights and aviation landing rights between UK and EU, including Ireland.

“I think it may make the negotiations on the withdrawal agreement seem simple.”

Mr Johnson is due to meet the Taoiseach in Dublin on Monday morning before flying back to the House of Commons for another crucial vote on holding a snap general election.

A bill to force the prime minister to either reach a Brexit deal or ask for a three-month extension is also expected to be signed into law on Monday, paving the way for a general election on October 15.

In another day of drama in the House of Commons, Mr Johnson’s brother Jo resigned as a minister, adding to a growing list of MPs who have now quit the Conservative Party this week.

While Boris Johnson yesterday told reporters that the UK would not be introducing border checks of any kind, Mr Varadkar last night admitted that some checks would “need to take place near the border”.

In a swipe at Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg, Mr Varadkar ended his speech with a quote from Charles Stewart Parnell.

Meanwhile, Tánaiste Simon Coveney denied the Government is preparing for up to 10,000 job losses in the tourism and hospitality sector by Christmas to be lost in a worst-case Brexit scenario amid growing demands for Cabinet to reveal its full Brexit plans.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe also refuted claims that ministers were “taken aback” by warnings at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting.

He pointed to the fact that the Government had already warned that up to 50,000 jobs would not be created in our economy that would otherwise be created.

Responding to media reports that ministers were told the impact of a no-deal Brexit would be worse than previously expected, Mr Donohoe insisted ministers are “well aware” of the scale of the challenge.

He said the risk of a no-deal Brexit has grown, but added that it is significant that there is a majority within the House of Commons in favour of avoiding a crash-out.

However, he said: “It is equally clear to all of us that there is a high level of uncertainty and volatility afoot in British politics.”

Mr Coveney said there was “no secret” in any of the no-deal warnings, but added:

“No report that I gave referred to the figure of 10,000 in any of the documents that I gave to the Cabinet. I think it’s important to level with people and I have always been straight up with people.”