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TÁNAISTE SIMON COVENEY has said solidarity with Ireland on the Brexit backstop is “as strong as it has ever been”.
Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin told reporters earlier today that he has heard a “very dangerous” suggestion is being made in Europe that the Irish backstop issue should be deferred.
He told the Dáil that he has been speaking to his European colleagues in other Labour parties who suggest the Irish backstop issue might be postponed.
“It’s only a suggestion at this stage. But it would be deeply dangerous for Ireland’s interests. And any such suggestion must be resisted,” he said.
Coveney dismissed any such suggestion, stating that at no point during his conversations with other EU leaders is anyone is questioning or undermining the Irish position.
He said solidarity has been pledged by all 26 foreign ministers as well as Michel Barnier, the chief negotiator for Europe.
The Tánaiste said he is in Brussels a lot more than Howlin, and solidarity is “as strong as it has ever been”.
“I am not sure what sources Howlin is getting his information from,” Coveney told reporters in Luxemburg today, adding that Howlin’s sources are not as credible as the pledge of solidarity he got from Barnier in an hour-long meeting this afternoon.
A government spokesperson has said there is “no basis” for Howlin’s suggestion whatsoever.
Ireland is most vulnerable to exposure post-Brexit, said Coveney, who said the EU negotiators and member States remain supportive of the Irish position.
He said it remains the case that the backstop must be included in the withdrawal agreement “unless and until” another solution is found. No one wants the backstop to ever be used, but Ireland needs it to be in the agreement as an insurance mechanism, said Coveney.
Tomorrow is the deadline set down for a withdrawal agreement to be signed off, however it is expected it will not get over the line.
Coveney said he accepted that “more time” is needed to allow the UK and EU teams to re-engage. Another summit is expected to be held in November or December if an agreement is not struck tomorrow.
The European Union President Donald Tusk has warned that a ‘no deal’ Brexit scenario is “more likely than ever before”.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the Dáil today that a no deal Brexit remains unlikely, however, he said Ireland has been preparing for such a scenario.
The Tánaiste said a lot has been agreed so far, but reminded people today that many of the choices are difficult “because of the choices that Britain have made” and are not due to the choices the EU has made.
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Sounds like Howlin is trying to make himself relevant somehow.
@Jane: can’t stand him but I’ve been saying all along the eu will betray us you watch and then ff fg and others will tell us they got the deal they wanted
@Jane: The fact that he’s doing it by weakening our negotiating position, regardless of the truth, is what bothers me. But it won’t bother Brendan I suppose, after all it’s far from the first time he’s betrayed the interests of those who elected him.
@David Clarke: Can’t stand him either but at least he has a few brain cells when compared to Sinister Coveney.
@David Clarke: Ok, except they can’t. For an EU Treaty to be valid it must be ratified by *all* member states. We don’t like what’s on offer, we refuse to sign, it’s that simple. Which we’ve done before and gotten better terms both times.
@David Clarke: betray us how? I think it would be difficult for FG to paint any hint of backtracking in a positive light. I think it’s the one area both Varadkar and Coveney have done well.
@Jane: Tax reform maybe? Wasn’t Enda supposed to get a deal for Ireland after we took the giant phalus of banking debt unlubed?
@John Considine: It’s the withdrawal agreement. It can be approved by a simple majority of MEP’s and 20 of 27 heads of State representing a minimum of 65 percent of the EU 27 population.
The Trade agreement, shoud there be one, is a separate issue. If not, it’s most likely WTO and tariffs which no exporter in Ireland to the UK wants.
Do your homework, there are real media outlets outwith Ireland, there’s even an EU website.
@wattsed: What media outlets? (Genuine interest!) I had not seen that breakdown before of the withdrawal agreement passage requirements vs the trade treaty. Would the trade treaty require referendum here do you know? Curious as Japan, Canada deals didn’t.
I suspect most don’t trust Europe and most don’t trust our elected representatives so who do we trust to make decision on our behalf ? We have some fundamental democracy issues if there is a total lack of trust in our representatives.
@JesusMoreBullshit:
“elected representatives” I have to say they only appear to represent themselves as far as I can see, totally disconnected from people in the real world.
Well its hard to decipher the truth between these 2… What ever the outcome of brexit , we’ll surely be worse off…
@Willy Mc Caul:
Short term loss, which the EU will cover, medium term gain once Britain dissolves.
@T Beckett is back: yep, worlds 5th largest economy with the largest legal and financial sectors is going to dissolve, of course it is.
@T Beckett is back: Pray tell who told you the EU would cover the short term loss. I read about the EIB feasibility study on a new source of electricity interconnector from France, that the money may be loaned to Ireland.
Meantime, be careful those “dissolved” don’t crank up the price of their electricity exports if there is no deal, they won’t have to conform to EU pricing regulations. Then we’re screwed, but – Varadkar has a “No Deal Plan”, and roadshows, and leaflets, and a website, and perhaps you ?
@Paul Fahey: “prominent Tory Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg, has launched a new investment vehicle in Dublin that warns of the potential risks of a hard Brexit.”
“During, and possibly after, this period there is likely to be considerable uncertainty as to the position of the UK and the arrangements which will apply to its relationships with the EU,” the fund says.
@KingCrisp: Rees Mogg has, since 2007 a shareholding in Somerset Capital, an investment vehicle with nearly 10 billion dollars of investor funds under management. He doesn’t make and cannot make investment decisions. This particular fund has an objective of investing in emerging markets.
My pension providers invested in an Irish Bank, neither they nor I were responsible for the bailout.
Go figure, over time, the analogy.
Howlin trying to stay relevant.
Also Leo is talking out of his backside. No deal or a bad deal is a strong possibility, and he knows that.
The UK has a different opinion to us listen to it here
http://media-the.musicradio.com:80/LBC973
Solidarity at its strongest……is that like a board’s motion on confidence in a Manager days before he gets the chop?
“He said he was speaking to his European colleagues in other Labour parties”. Sorry but I’m confused, Ireland has a Labour party???
@Shelly Levine: Labour, and some other political parties all over Europe are affiliated within a grouping in the EU – the Social and Democrats, includes UK Labour and a high number of German MEP’s, this grouping is large and influential.
@wattsed: Think you missed the punchline there
Labour party looking for attention,dont know why reporters interview them as their opinion is irrelevant to the public,they do not exist.
I would love to hear the views of non DUP Unionists on the EU offer of a Special Economic Zone for NI.
The EU proposal is essentially the same as what would be available under WTO rules.
Two pr*cks
Never underestimate the usefulness of an Irish “Useful Fool” and nobody fills that role better than us . If Labour are good for anything it’s this . Hence the self important walk on part of its leaders to whisper in whoever ear is willing to listen .sweet songs straight from the “securocrat “playbook . It’s about sowing devision only question remaining is was it Brit spooks or there EU equivalents ?
Howlin is bullshitting!
Horrible little toad of a man,
Leader of a dead party!
Sooner Liebour are gone for good the better!
Yes coveney, you dont know, but how coulld you. The eu will shaflt ir!eland. And smile whilst doing it, and dumbo coveney will have nothijng to say. The backs!top is a border like it or not it will come.
have your say