'Trust has been eroded' - Taoiseach warns public to prepare for no deal Brexit

Taoiseach Micheál Martin: "I think the European Union leadership will be very concerned about this in terms of how the negotiations go from here on." Picture: Julien Behal

The Taoiseach has warned the public to prepare for a no-deal Brexit after speaking with Boris Johnson.

Micheál Martin has said he is "not optimistic" that a deal will be reached adding the latest moves from the UK have made negotiations very difficult.

"Trust has been eroded," Mr Martin said.

The British Government yesterday published legislation which reneges on parts of the Withdrawal Agreement.

The Bill itself acknowledges that certain provisions will "have effect notwithstanding inconsistency or incompatibility with international or other domestic law".

Mr Martin said: "The stakes are higher now because of the British action.

"The publication of the Bill signals an attempt by the United Kingdom Government to essentially break its commitments entered into in an international agreement and that's very serious. 

Any negotiation process can only proceed on the basis of trust. When one party to a negotiation decides that they can change what’s already agreed and incorporated into law, it really undermines trust. This is a critical time in the #Brexit process and the stakes are very high.

— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) September 9, 2020

"I think the European Union leadership will be very concerned about this in terms of how the negotiations go from here on."

The Taoiseach spoke with his UK counterpart last night and said he had raised significant concerns with him.

I made it very clear to him in no uncertain terms our outright opposition to the moves that he and his government took yesterday, the unilateral nature of the British government's decision to break an international treaty.

"I made the point to him that we all have obligations as political leaders to protect our peoples from the worst effect of a no-deal and that this intervention was very very serious and has raised a fundamental issue of trust between the European Union negotiators, and the United Kingdom, and ourselves," Mr Martin told RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme.