Coveney hoping to sweet talk the DUP
No ‘arm twisting’ over Brexit deal
SIMON Coveney is going to try and gently convince the DUP to change its mind on Brexit today.
But he won’t be trying any “arm twisting” because he says he knows this won’t work with the obstinate unionist party.
The Tanaiste is planning to meet MP Jeffrey Donaldson this lunchtime ahead of them both taking part in a panel discussion at the Fine Gael National Conference in Wexford this afternoon.
The DUP is fiercely against the proposed Brexit deal British Prime Minister Theresa May has brought to Parliament.
The party, whose 10 MPS help keep the Conservative government in power, is opposed to the withdrawl agreement and backstop.
Mr Coveney said: “Jeffrey is very welcome here. In fact, we have very senior representatives from a number of parties from Northern Ireland coming here.
“I think there will be a really substantial debate on Northern Ireland and I’m looking forward to it.
“I know the DUP well enough now to know that they don’t respond well to arm twisting.”
Mr Coveney also said the Government is “not sitting on its hands” when it comes to ensuring there is no return of a hard border.
He reiterated the Government’s position that the backstop is the best way to ensure this.
Mr Coveney said: “Certainly our
view is that we need to find a way of ensuring physical border infrastructure doesn’t re-emerge.
“I think that would be a shared endeavour across all three entities, the British and Ireland governments and the European Commission.
“We have always said, and I think this was borne out by the formal negotiations between the UK and EU, that the most effective way to do that is through regulatory alignment so that you align the rules of the customs union and single market in Northern Ireland and the areas necessary to prevent border infrastructure.”
This will be the last Fine Gael national conference before the local and European elections in May – and could be the last before the next General Election, whenever that may be.
AVOIDING a hard border in a no-border Brexit scenario will be very difficult, it was warned yesterday.
European Affairs Minister Helen Mcentee said the risk of the UK leaving the EU without an agreement remained “very strong”, but insisted Ireland was still not planning for border checks.
She added the Government would only enter into negotiations with the UK and EU Commission on how a future border would work when, or if, it became clear that a no-deal is the only option.
Ms Mcentee said: “If a no-deal scenario is the only option left and looking like that is going to happen, then we need to sit down with the Commission and with the UK and we need to understand and work with each other, and essentially this is negotiation as to how we can avoid borders on the island of Ireland and, be under no illusion, it’s very difficult without a deal.”
Late on Thursday EU leaders agreed a plan that would delay Brexit from March 29 to May 22. But this deadline will only apply if MPS approve Prime Minister Theresa May’s withdrawal deal next week otherwise Britain could crash out on April 12.
And the chances of the deal gaining the approval of the UK Parliament seemed dead last night after DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds, whose party props up the Tories, said they’d reject it. He added: “The Prime Minister missed an opportunity at the EU Council to put forward proposals which could have improved the prospects of an acceptable Withdrawal Agreement and help unite the country.
“That failure is all the more disappointing and inexcusable given the clear divisions and arguments which became evident amongst EU member states when faced with outcomes they don’t like.”
Despite this risk Minister Mcentee told RTE’S Morning Ireland that there are still no plans for a hard border.
She said: “When it gets to the point, and if it gets to the point, and we hope it does not, that if a no-deal scenario is the only likely and possible outcome then we need to engage with the UK and with the Commission as to how we would do that, but until that happens we will not be planning for a border.”
She said the prospect of the UK having to participate in European elections if the Withdrawal Agreement was not passed could “focus minds” at Westminster.
If it is the only option left then we need to work with each other HELEN MCENTEE RTE YESTERDAY