Swann urges Fine Gael to take care in comments about Brexit
THE leader of the Ulster Unionist Party has urged members of Fine Gael to be careful with their words when it comes to Brexit.
Robin Swann sounded the warning as he addressed a side event at the party’s annual conference in Dublin.
He said while relations between the two parts of the island have improved in the last two decades, Brexit has caused a strain, adding that some comments by Fine Gael members recently have been received like a “poke in the eye” by unionists.
Mr Swann said he wants to see relations improve — but that means being honest with each other. “Good neighbours must be honest with each other, and that means speaking up when you think the other has overstepped the mark,” he said.
Irish Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan and Business Minister Heather Humphreys were in the audience for his address.
Former SDLP leader Alasdair McDonnell, ex-Alliance Party leader John Cushnahan, Ulster Unionist MLA Steve Aiken and former Ulster Unionist MP Danny Kinahan were also present.
On Brexit, Mr Swann said his party wants to see the “best deal possible for the UK, and with that Northern Ireland”.
He added that while the Irish Government said it wants to see a deal that protects Northern Ireland too, it has “not felt like we were working to achieve the same objective”.
He said: “To be honest, comments from members of this party sometimes were delivered like a poke in the eye to unionists.
“Our party has been clear that we do not want to see the reintroduction of physical structures at the border on the island of Ireland. But we did not see the same understanding from your government for our concerns about a hard border in the Irish Sea and problems that created for us both as unionists and as an economy which relies heavily on our place in the United Kingdom’s single market.
“The reality is that the geography of these islands means we rely heavily on each other.”