Tánaiste: 'Significant progress' has been made in protocol talks

Micheál Martin said negotiators should be given space to agree a deal which may lead to the restoration of the Northern Executive

Tánaiste Micheál Martin said a Northern Ireland protocol deal could be delivered 'in a quicker timeline than a medium-term timeline'. Picture: Niall Carson/PA

There has been "very significant progress" made in talks around the Northern Ireland protocol, the Tánaiste says, amid speculation that a deal will be announced in the coming days.

It has been suggested in London that British prime minister Rishi Sunak will announce a deal as early as Monday, but Irish Government sources said that there is "no timeline" yet and that questions remain about whether Mr Sunak's Conservative Party will agree en masse to the deal.

Speaking to RTÉ Radio's This Week, Micheál Martin said that the respective negotiating teams "should be given space, not just to agree a deal, but to land a deal".

Mr Martin said that a deal could be delivered "in a quicker timeline than a medium-term timeline".

He added that he hoped that a deal would lead to the restoration of the Northern Executive.

"We have listened very carefully to the concerns of all parties in Northern Ireland. The broader picture is we have to be conscious of all perspectives. They should focus on the issues which have been raised.

"If we keep to the issues, it will be satisfactory to all concerned… and we will be in a position to get the executive and the assembly up and running.

British deputy prime minister Dominic Raab had earlier told the BBC that a deal could be announced in "days, not weeks".

"If we can get this over the line — we're on the cusp, we've made great progress, we're not there yet — this would be a really important deal.

"Critically, a deal that, with all the best will in the world and with all the progress that others have made, that no prime minister before had been able to secure.

I think it would mark a paradigm shift first and foremost for the communities of Northern Ireland, but I think it would be a significant achievement for [Mr Sunak].

Speaking on Saturday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that talks were "inching towards a conclusion".

“I would just encourage everyone to go the extra mile to come to an agreement because the benefits are huge.

“They allow us to have the Northern Ireland Assembly back up and running in the North, and the Good Friday Agreement working properly again, and also to put relations between the United Kingdom and Ireland and the European Union on a much more positive footing.”

Meanwhile, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak will meet on Monday to "continue their work in person towards shared, practical solutions for the range of complex challenges around the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland."