TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has said that he has “regrets” over the Northern Ireland Protocol being imposed as the latest deadline for restoring the executive at Stormont has passed without any breakthrough.
“I do have regrets, and the regret that I have is that in the same way Brexit was imposed on Northern Ireland without the support of both communities, the protocol was imposed in Northern Ireland without the support of two communities,” he told BBC.
Varadkar noted that it wasn’t possible for Stormont to have a “voice” when the protocol was passed as the Northern Ireland executive wasn’t functioning at the time.
“That has created difficulties,” he said.
Varadkar added that the protocol “is working” as there is no hard border between the North and the South, he can understand how unionists feel that it has “lessened the links, and weakened the union between Northern Ireland and Britain”.
His comments come as another deadline for forming a devolved executive in N0rthern Ireland has passed with no end to the deadlock in sight.
As no agreement was reached before the latest deadline of 19 January, the UK Government has once again assumed a legal duty to call a snap Assembly election in the region, but Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has stated that there will be no election called for at least a few weeks.
“I’ll be under a legal duty to hold elections to the Assembly in the next 12 weeks.
“I’ll use the next few weeks to carefully assess all options about what happens next and continue to talk to all interested parties before I make any decisions,” he said yesterday.
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— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) January 20, 2023
In first British broadcast interview since returning as Taoiseach at #WEF23, in further conciliatory remarks, Leo Varadkar tells BBC of his “regrets” NI Protocol “imposed” on unionists, and that he gets why they feel it weakened the Union “without them having a proper say”: pic.twitter.com/n14hVdLSSP
An ongoing DUP block on the functioning of power-sharing, in protest at Brexit’s , means it is almost certain the day will pass without an executive being convened.
19 January was the latest in series of deadlines the parties have been given to resurrect devolution following the last election in May.
As the institutions can only function with the cooperation of the largest nationalist party and largest unionist party, the DUP effectively holds a veto on power-sharing returning.
The party has made clear it will only go back into government if significant changes are delivered on the protocol.
The Stormont impasse featured prominently when Heaton-Harris attended the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference which took place in Farmleigh House in the Phoenix Park.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin urged patience with the negotiations to resolve the Northern Ireland Protocol dispute, insisting a mountain has to be climbed.
Speaking to reporters at Farmleigh House in Phoenix Park yesterday evening where he met with his UK ministerial counterparts at a meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, he said the talks between the EU and UK should be given “time and space”.
“The issues are very challenging,” he said.
“So I don’t understate the formidable challenges and the mountain that has to be climbed. So I do think it’s worth the effort.”
Martin added: “It makes sense to be patient here and just to see how this evolves and unfolds.”
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has so far declined to offer any detail on the negotiations between the UK and EU.
“I’m working with what I know I think we can deliver and let’s not pre-empt anything,” he said after the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference yesterday.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what the talks between the United Kingdom and the European Union can bring forward and I very much hope that we can move forward from there.”
Varadkar earlier said that the Irish government has had no indication yet from Heaton-Harris that he intends to call an election.
Speaking yesterday at the World Economic Forum in Davoshe said:
We haven’t heard any indication from him yet. I know he’s in regular contact with the Tánaiste, so probably best for me not to speculate on what he’s going to say.
Minister of State for Northern Ireland Steve Baker told reporters in Dublin that the public needed to know that yesterday’s meeting was a “great success”.
“I’m pleased because we’re now on a positive trajectory together. And we’re going to work together. We’re always going to face problems, but we’re going to face those problems together,” he said, adding that he was very pleased and proud of the group’s work.
Many unionists in Northern Ireland are vehemently opposed to arrangements that have created economic barriers on the movement of goods between Britain and Northern Ireland, insisting the protocol has weakened the region’s place within the United Kingdom.
The EU and UK continue to engage in negotiations aimed at significantly reducing the red tape on Irish Sea trade, with both sides recently talking up the potential of an agreed solution being reached.
The DUP has made clear any agreement that may emerge must meet its tests on removing trade barriers if it is to countenance a return to Stormont.
If the latest deadline passes, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris assumes a duty to call an election within 12 weeks.
However, he does not have to announce a date for a poll immediately.
Polling day is usually around six weeks after an election is announced, so Heaton-Harris would have until mid-March to call a poll if it is to be held before the 12-week period expires in mid-April.
That would give Heaton-Harris another six weeks to see what emerges from the UK-EU talks on the protocol.
If a deal emerges in the coming weeks, and the DUP agrees to re-enter power-sharing on the back of it, the Northern Ireland Secretary could then ask Parliament to retrospectively extend the 19 January deadline for forming an executive – meaning the parties could return to Stormont without the need for a fresh election.
Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald said she would like to see a deal between the UK and EU on the Northern Ireland Protocol deal with concerns around “overly burdensome checks” between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, and the administrative burden.
“These are issues that have been raised, these are issues that are amenable to solutions, I think we’re very close,” she told Sky News.
“A majority of people elected in the north of Ireland support the protocol, people in business will say, ‘here are the difficulties’, but everyone accepts that the protocol needs to be finessed, but we need the protocol as a consequence of Brexit.”
Asked about the DUP’s concerns about a trade border down the Irish Sea, McDonald responded: “The DUP have their view, they express their concerns, and that’s fine. There are other views, they do not represent the majority view in the north of Ireland.
“We need everybody back in Stormont and what we need is an acceptance for power-sharing to work, you have to be prepared to share power. We also need a democratic acceptance that in order for government to work, you have to come at things in a reasonable frame of mind, and it can’t be a case of my way or the highway, that’s not fair.
“I would challenge the DUP in this regard, so many important things that really matter in people’s day-to-day lives have either been delayed or haven’t happened at all because we don’t have government in the north.
“If their view is that they can crash the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement in hope of a return to direct rule from London, that is not an option,” said McDonald.
Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O’Neill said that she wanted all the parties back around the Executive table, as she called for a solution that is “pragmatic, that’s long lasting, to provide certainty and stability”.
“The DUP have to shoulder some responsibility for bringing us to the point that we’re in today,” she told BBC Newsnight.
“I believe in power-sharing. I believe in all the parties working together. I believe in all voices being heard. And I want to see a solution here and I want to get us back into the executive.”
Expressing some optimism about progress towards a deal on the protocol, she said: “I am encouraged by the conversation this week that’s been heard between both the EU and the British Government.
“I’m encouraged that [Foreign Secretary] James Cleverly is the United States because the United States are a big friend of the peace process.”
With reporting by Eimer McAuley
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