Taoiseach tells Johnson overriding NI protocol would destabilise Good Friday Agreement

“I also said to the British Prime Minister, that the British government cannot continue to say that European Union is being inflexible and isn't moving,” the Taoiseach said.

The Taoiseach says he told Boris Johnson that circumventing the protocol would destabilise Northern Ireland and trust has been eroded between the EU and the UK.

UK-Ireland relations have been under considerable strain as the British government continues to threaten to override the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss spoke with European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic on Thursday, however, negotiations are said to be strained after the British government's determination to reform the protocol was noted in the Queen's Speech on Tuesday Micheál Martin says he holds the “opposite view” to the assertion by the British Prime Minister that a unilateral legislative initiative to circumvent the protocol is about the Good Friday Agreement.

“Any unilateral initiative by the United Kingdom Government that would seek to undermine or circumvent the protocol would have a very destabilising on the Good Friday Agreement, would be very unhelpful and I've communicated that to the British prime minister,” Mr Martin said.

“We had a very frank and honest discussion on Tuesday morning last, I stressed that I felt the best pathway was towards an intensification and a professional engagement between the United Kingdom Government and European Union in respect of the operation of the protocol is to minimise any impacts on the free flow of goods to Northern Ireland. I believe that's attainable.” 

Mr Martin said that the notion that the EU had not been accommodating was false and that the British were damaging trust between them and the bloc.

“I also said to the British Prime Minister, that the British government cannot continue to say that European Union is being inflexible and isn't moving,” he said.

“Now we must have a ‘change of the mandate’ whatever that means. That is not true. There has been movement from the European Commission. There has been consistent movement from the European Commission but it hasn't been reciprocated. And as a result of the lack of reciprocation, there's been a growing erosion of trust on the EU side, that no matter what is produced on the EU side, it doesn't get reciprocated, and there's an absence of clarity around what the British government's landing zone is in respect of these negotiations.” 

The Taoiseach lambasted what he called a “continuing and consistent lack of clarity as to what the government's landing zone is”, in respect of the protocol and says now we're into a new iteration of this in the idea of a unilateral legislative initiative in terms of the application of the protocol in British domestic law.

Mr Martin said this would be a breach of an international treaty.

“Which I think would have very significant negative repercussions for the European Union's relationship with the United Kingdom and it with ourselves as well. And in my conversation with the British Prime Minister reiterated that unilateralism isn't good here.“ 

He added that it is extremely important that unilateral actions are avoided because they will only work to the detriment of the situation in Northern Ireland in the wake of an election.

“We both agreed that it was very, very important and imperative that institutions would be restored and that the democratic mandate given to the elected representatives by the people of Northern Ireland will be upheld in the form of taking seats in the assembly and forming an executive,” he added.