High noon at the Northern frontier

There was never any serious doubt that two of the three hurdles to be jumped before the Brexit negotiations could move ahead to a trade deal were insurmountable.

Britain will pay, within reason, what it takes to settle its European tabs, and there never has been any intention to uproot millions of EU and UK citizens. Ireland’s north-south border always was and remains the most problematic obstacle to a smooth British exit from the European Union ... and an exit that does not lead to the creation of a hard customs border on the island of Ireland.

That is an objective on which all parties are agreed. The political — and technological — challenge now is the search for an answer that does not, as Simon Coveney puts it, boil the mess down to a Green vs Orange conflict.