NI protocol legislation 'deeply damaging' for Irish/UK relations - Coveney

The Foreign Affairs Minister had a phone call this morning with UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss who outlined her intention to publish legislation today

Mr Coveney said publishing legislation that would breach the UK’s commitments under international law

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has told the UK Foreign Secretary that publishing the protocol legislation will be "deeply damaging" for relations.

Mr Coveney and Liz Truss had a 12-minute phone call this morning, during which the Foreign Secretary outlined her intention to publish legislation today.

Mr Coveney said publishing legislation that would breach the UK’s commitments under international law, the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and Northern Ireland Protocol is deeply damaging to relationships on these islands and between the UK and EU.

He said it marks a particular low point in the UK’s approach to Brexit, especially as Ms Truss has not engaged in negotiations with the EU in any meaningful way since February.

Mr Coveney repeated that the protocol is the negotiated solution, ratified by Westminster, to the hard Brexit pursued by the UK government.

He stressed that the UK’s unilateral approach is not in the best interest of Northern Ireland and does not have the consent or support of the majority of people or businesses in Northern Ireland. Far from fixing problems, this legislation will create a whole new set of uncertainties and damage relationships.

The proposed UK plans to alter the Northern Ireland protocol has been described as "disturbing", by the Children's Minister.

Roderic O'Gorman, Children's Minister

Reacting to the proposed legislation, which is due to be announced later today, Roderic O'Gorman said: "It's a real concern here and obviously we haven't seen the legislation yet but this sort of unilateral action that the UK is taking is really disturbing.

"The UK has always been a country that's been a standard-bearer. It looks to us like what is being proposed here will clearly breach international law, will breach the protocol that the UK Government itself signed up to.

"The EU has been very clear that it is willing to negotiate on elements of the protocol that have caused difficulties for the UK in the past, and that's the approach we should be adopting," he told Newstalk Breakfast.