Ireland/UK relationship 'strained, but can be repaired'

A man walks past a burnt out bus on the Shankill road in West Belfast, Northern Ireland, Thursday, April 8, 2021.  Picture: Peter Morrison/AP

Ongoing tensions because of Brexit mean the relationship between Ireland and the UK is “strained, but it can be repaired”, Leo Varadkar has said.

Speaking yesterday at a virtual event on the impact of Brexit, Mr Varadkar said, as a policy, it was always going to be disruptive and it was always going to have a disproportionate impact on the island of Ireland.

“But what we have seen on the streets of Northern Ireland in recent weeks is really concerning,” he said.

“We understand the genuinely held concerns of people in the Protestant, loyalist and unionist community who fear divergence from the rest of the UK. 

We never wanted any trade barriers north/south, between Northern Ireland and Great Britain or between Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

Mr Varadkar said this was why Dublin was against Brexit. “It’s why we advocated the UK staying in the single market and/or customs union. It’s why, when that was not possible, we negotiated a single customs territory or 'the backstop'. The rejection of these gave rise to the [Northern Ireland] Protocol,” he said. “Now, we just want to make it work.”

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar: What we have seen on the streets of Northern Ireland in recent weeks is really concerning. Picture: Maxwells

The Irish Government will continue to advocate for flexibility, common sense and generosity in terms of solutions, he said, adding that any disruption to trade, human movement or animal movement between Northern Ireland and Great Britain should be minimised.

In a warning to Downing St, he said the Irish Government cannot support anything that would undermine the integrity of the single market and no change can be made to EU/UK treaty unilaterally. It can only be by agreement in Brussels, London and Dublin and ideally Belfast, he said.

He was speaking as Simon Coveney, the foreign affairs minister, was in London holding a series of meetings with Brandon Lewis, the British secretary of state for Northern Ireland, and other political leaders.