'I think we should be afraid of no-deal Brexit', Varadkar warns

@Ben Jamen: the British forget that it was THEiR decision to put a border in place when they caved in to Carson’s loyalists in 1922, we didn’t want the damn thing.

@Kem Trayle: while witty and amusing, the response to “want trade terms?” was “Yes” and the EU responded with “Ok, here you go with a backstop”.

@Kem Trayle: Just makes me think of Kevin from Kevin and Perry.

@Kem Trayle:
Comment better than the article itself.

@Mushy Peas: he said “Want the same trade terms?” Which the British said no to as that bound them to the EU trade agreements and standards. He was entirely accurate, you miss quoted him.

@Kem Trayle: Brilliant perfect & Argee you cheer

@Mushy Peas: brits proposed the backstop initially

@Mushy Peas: while your comment is patronising and inaccurate – it is boring.

@Mushy Peas: here you go with an NI Backstop to which Britain said, no we’ll agree to a UK backstop!!

@Kem Trayle: tool

@David Lynch: no we won’t FG never voted for them never will ok abhor their policy’s and they will never get my support.

@David Lynch: when really you should hold your leaders to account.

@Ann: A disturbingly accurate assessment Ann.

@Ann: what bullying?

@Darius Guppy: how dare the Irish government try look after Ireland’s best interests. We should know our place and act like the small subservient country that the right wing neanderthals in the UK expect us up be and not a pesky nuisance.

@Alan Byrne: you could say that about the lot of them meanwhile …..nothing gets done

@Seàn Mc: thought u wer talking about the yoyos in europe there.hahaa how they all look the same from a distance

@Seàn Mc: what are you talking about? How did you take that from my Post? To answer it anyway, the British are also entitled to look after their own interests too, no? Coveney is complaining about British comments, but fails to acknowledge the volume of anti British comments and articles here. Just look at the posts on this thread, hw many are making the British out to be thick? Rebuilding an empire? Ireland haters? Selfish?

@Darius Guppy: Not sure I agree with you on that I don’t think our press makes it personal in the way the Telegraph does. Our headlines would never shout ‘Little England’ and its ‘ridiculous leaders’. Never.

@Mary White: yes they do, it is constantly written about Little Englanders, reckless, thick, lacking understanding. There a an almost acceptable form of racism against the British in this company.

@Darius Guppy: I just found your comment a tad odd. As Britain stumble towards a no-deal exit, there is a concerted effort to start blaming others for the imminent catastrophe. It began months ago but has been ramped up since the Eton Trump became PM.
The apocalypse is nearly upon us so let’s start blaming Europe for a lack of flexibility or Ireland for wanting to protect the back stop. Forget silly bluster and rhetoric from people who only talk in soundbites, articles like the one in the Telegraph have that casual xenophobic air that Brexiteers all too frequently dabble with and Coveney is right to call them on it.

@Darius Guppy: Darius .. seriously? Fintan O’Toole has written a series of intellectually robust articles analysing the causes of Brexit, the identity crisis in England and the historical rationale. That’s not the same as the articles in the Telegraph or the Daily Fail which are propaganda spin doctor pieces relishing in the old English stereotype of the Irish as delusional nationalist haters with simian characteristics. There is no comparison. We are not the ones pairing petrol over our heads and threatening to “light the match” is we don’t get our way. You need to distinguish between articles which are well written and argued, despite your efforts at reducing this to hate speech, and hate filled spin doctor propaganda nonsense which fills much of the British “media”.

@Gus Sheridan: F**k off with your 3rd world health service. Go visit a 3rd world country before making stupid comments.

@De20: If there is such a demand for a border poll then why the deafening silence from NI people? SF are like vultures waiting for the corpse to be ready. They will make sure that the loyalist community will be less inclined to have anything to do with this idea.
A united Ireland is the way to go eventually but not in these times.

@Sal Paradise: I have visited a number of third world countries actually. If you wind your neck in and think for a minute WHY it’s in that condition.Its not the hard working staff that’s the problem but the scandalous lack of investment by the present and previous governments hence the service falls far short of what it should be. Hence a third world service

@Gus Sheridan: we have the 7th highest spend on healthcare per capita in the OECD.

@Gus Sheridan: we have the 7th highest spend on healthcare per capita in the OECD

@Sal Paradise: Wish we had the health service of Cuba,

@Gary Kearney: we’re too greedy for that. People will fork out the most when they’re lives are at stake.

@Gus Sheridan: lol! We can’t accuse you of being a loyal subject.

@Gus Sheridan: and VRT!!!

@John Cotter: erm, have you considered the implications of an equal reciprocation? Probably not the most constructive way forward tbg.

@@mdmak33: and ireland could equally make it ‘akward’ for the UK by putting in place alternatives to needing to use the landbridge……don’t get distracted by the punch and judy nature of this….the UK are the ones who want to leave the club and then still seek the benefits….trying to achieve this by bullying the smaller members in the club like Ireland won’t work this time -they have bullied Ireland forever…..and can’t get the head around the reality that we are a stronger voice and have a better reputation in the EU than they do at this stage…..they won’t leave without a deal….the self inflicted damage is so idiotic that even if it’s an 11th hour extension -they will row back.Wait and see.

@John Cotter: works both ways Einstein

@Fear Uisce: We do not have the ports to accommodate such an increase and we certainly do not have the ferries. The cost implication would be absolutely massive too.

@Dave Hammond: perhaps you could explain how on earth we would be making it difficult for them by not using them as a landbridge? You may also explain which ports we have that could accommodate such an increase in volume and then detail who will cover the massive cost implications for such. Indeed, perhaps you could also detail where we are going to get all these ferries from.
‘This narrative that the UK is bullying Ireland and other small nations is nonsense, what have they done? There is just silly rhetoric coming from a small number of individuals on both sides.

@Darius Guppy: read the initial post, they mentioned the possibility of the uk placing tariffs on irish goods passing through the uk. that puts up the price, makes ferries/shipping more cost effective. if shipping companies can make a profit they will put ships on these routes.

@Darius Guppy: also why would we need an increase in port size, sure all these trucks are using the ports already

@John Cotter: Ehh, we cant get into or out of
Ireland, even to the West, without passing through British controlled airspace!

@@mdmak33: Ireland and the EU will cry and moan and take it, get a grip. UK is an island too and they rely on the ferryports of the EU. So they will not try anything or they will suffer worse

@Darius Guppy: They have bullied others all their history. Thats what freaking the out. They are not all powerful and it is confusing for them,

@Darius Guppy: what increase in volume? All trucks currently using UK land bridge are already using Irish ports. Traffic volume would remain the same.

@Fear Uisce: ferries would not be more cost effective, that a just more scare mongering. How long does a ferry take to reach an EU land border other than Britain? How many trailers can any ship hold at one time? We would simply be unable to export a large amount of our current trade. If the goods were simply transporting through Britain, namely using it as a land bridge, their would be no tariffs in reality. Without the ability to use Britain as a land ridge, which is not going to happen, we would be absolutely fooked for imports and exports.

@Fear Uisce: because the ferry takes so much longer with the same load capacity, therefore more ferries would be needed to make up for the time loss, it really is not difficult to figure that out. More ferries means more infrastructure requirements and larger ports, which w4 simply do not have.

@Gary Kearney: pathetic comment. Did they bully us during the financial crash? Did they bully us during the bail out? What did the Romans ever do for us?

@Gerard Smith: no it would not remain the same, because the ferries can only take so much of a load and raising the transport time from 3.5 hours to over 20 hours is going to mean the requirement for ferries will increase massively. There are currently in excess of a dozen ferries travelling to Britain on a daily basis, which allows for a much greater load capacity. In addition the port of Dover has more traffic alone than all the Irish ports combined. This really is nit difficult, but you don’t seem to get it.

@Darius Guppy: how do you think we export at the moment? What a dumb comment. And yes, we do have the ferries.

@Jason Healy: oh my god, we export through Britain. Simple, very simple math will tell you the increase in crossing time will mean a much greater requirement for ferries. So many people on here calling the British thick, but so many cannot figure out a very simple logistical maths problem.

@Darius Guppy: what increase at the ports?.you do realize that the traffic using the land bridge still arrives in to Ireland by port.

@michael gallagher: Jesus wept. The sailing to France, the closest other port takes over 20 hours, which means it takes 48 hours minimum for a return load per ferry. To Britain it takes 3.5 hours so can do up to 4 returns per 24 hours. There are also more ferries travelling between more ports. Therefore, we would need multiple more Ferries to carry the same amount of goods that is currently transported via Britain. An infinite amount of freight vehicles can use British roads at once, but ferries have a very limited load capacity, which means the longer the crossing, the more ferries you need to keep up with current capacity. This really is nit difficult, but it is going over so many peoples head and yet it is the British many people are calling thick.

@Darius Guppy: you’re missing the point, once again, Darius. You’re determined to blame the Irish in all this and somehow absolve the Brits. Look at your comment history. Simple fact, Britain want out of the club and will have to compromise to do so in a relatively painless way for all concerned. That’s the beginning middle and end of this.

@Mack: oh FFS, told off again for not wearing the green jersey. Please quote all the comments where I have blamed the Irish for Brexit, go in knock yourself out.

You clearly have not read the thread as people were stating not having a land bridge through the UK would nit be an issue in fact it would be bad for the UK. Now I await those quotes.

@Mack: come on now fella, where are all these examples of me blaming Ireland. According to you there are so many it should be very easy to find them.

@Darius Guppy: Ya what now?

@Adrian: Your comments make no sense whatsoever. This Brexit deal is negotiated between the UK and the EU, of which we are part. The Irish government have clearly being looking after Ireland and have convinced the EU to do the same.The government and other parties are playing an absolute blinder on this. The UK’s reaction proves this beyond doubt.

@Adrian: I disagree. I have listened to their interviews on the media outlets and they are using intelligent and accurate sound bites to make their case. They are not interested in peddling lies and respect that Brexit is a British project.

@John Mc Donagh: at this stage, the irish govs strategy should be damage limitation. That means they should be willing to renegotiate their backstop stance with the UK because when this is all over, the EU will still operate as before, the UK will be ok, they are big enough, they will be fully independent, doing their own trade, and us, we’ll just have a bunch of grossly incompetent politicians only too willing to blame brexit for everything they are incapable of doing themselves. And add to that, we need to trade with the UK but the UK gov won’t give a hoot about the irish because of the damage our politicians have done to the UK – irish relations. Renegotiate and lose only say 50% now or be stubborn and lose a lot more.

@John Mc Donagh: also the new UK gov don’t care what the EU says. They’ll do what they decide to do themselves regardless of what the EU says, and you really can’t expect them to act any differently and be submissive to anyone, even the EU.

@Adrian:

You have a very poor read of the situation. This Brexit deal is negotiated between the UK and the EU, not the UK and Ireland. The Irish politicians have shown themselves very competent in relation to Brexit. In the case of a no deal Brexit, the UK will not be okay. They will have to negotiate numerous trade deals, before they can be “doing their own trade”

Ireland is not dependent on UK politicians for trade between Ireland and the UK. This will be governed by any trade deals done between the UK and the EU.

Your anti Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil posts are now just becoming nonsensical rants.

@Adrian: You haven’t a clue. Sometimes in negotiations the wise thing to do is say nothing and let others dig a great big hole for themselves. Leo and Simon playing a blinder. UK media playing the man rather than the ball. Huge sign of weakness

@Adrian: And so the U.K.should be allowed to call all the shots? Is that what you mean? I see a disastrous situation emerging not unlike 1912 when the British agreed terms for Home Rule and then surrendered to the hard-line unionists in Ireland and Britain. Fortunately, very fortunately, the Irish are in a much better position now to act in the best interests of the country! The British can go their own way if they so want, we just do not have to co-operate.

@CrabaRev: who knows who’s reading the situation good or bad! Size matters here. It is very possible the EU will sacrifice some of what the irish politicians want here in order to strike a deal with the UK, and don’t tell me that can’t happen in the EU because it could. And our politicians and their spads are a joke, they are a lot of things (all negative) but you cannot call them competent, considering all their continuous domestic messes. The EU can walk all over the irish politicians, they cannot do that with the UK. What do you think will happen if the EU decides something that is unfavourable to the irish, our idiots aren’t gonna stand up to the EU heads, they’ll say yes sir, throw a sob story to their gullible irish audience and tell us anybody else would bankrupt the country!

@CrabaRev: and i’ll tell you how bad the irish politicians are. Recently, when the EU leaders were electing new heads, leo said they asked him did he wanted the top job in the EU and according to him, he didn’t want it. I don’t think it was credible anyway, i think he was spoofing, but it would have been a prime opportunity for him to lead the EU, in the best interests of ireland, in the brexit negotiations.

@Adrian: This mess has fcuk all to do with Leo, Simon, Micheal, Mary Lou or even Mick Wallace. This is entirely the fault of the UK.

@Adrian: Bollocks to that. If the UK doesn’t back down then let them gladly crash out. From our point of view I’ll gladly pay more income tax to protect our economy from their jingoistic madness.

@Adrian: Chap, you are talking nonsense. You haven’t stated anything of substance at all. All the evidence to date, three years of it, shows the EU will demonstrate unity on the subject of Brexit.
Ireland is a member of the worlds largest trading block. We will have plenty of customers for our wares.
Britain can go her merry way, and all the best to her.
I understand there are a number of people here in Ireland who have a loyalty to Britain. But the rest of us are happy to forge ahead as an intendant nation cooperating and trading within a group of independent nations.

@Adrian: If your were in the UK you would defo be a brexiteer…. You can tell…

@Adam Kelly: What nonsense I am 99% sure a deal will be done with the Eu and the UK . The last thing the EU want is the mess of the UK with no deal Therefore the EU may be showing unity with the Republic for now but they could easily pressure the Republic to cave at th last minute . Lets see how this ends up . People are looking at from the Irish side and the uk side but not what the EU have in mind . Its throw Ireland under the bus or deal with the UK and no deal .

@Lionheart1: Politicians lying isn’t what’s striking, it’s how brazen the lies are to a point where the speaker and audience are all aware it’s untrue but are on board with it regardless because they like the idea of it being true.

@Rochelle: Think that’s called human nature.

@Mushy Peas: how so? There’s only need for a backstop due to unnecessary UK red lines. The backstop was negotiated, in good faith, by the UK, notably by Boris bloody Johnson. It took nearly years to get that deal. Now the UK wants a new deal with different red lines (contradicting their first set) in only 3 months but FG are being asinine. Right you are, Mushy! What would you suggest then?