Coveney tells May to deliver on Border commitments as she clings to Chequers deal
TANÁISTE Simon Coveney has said Theresa May will need to deliver on her Border commitments to secure a Brexit deal, as the UK prime minister said her Chequers plan was the only proposal on the table to deliver a soft Border.
Mrs May told the BBC that the proposal was the only one that would avoid a hard Border on the island of Ireland.
“The people of Northern Ireland deserve to be listened to in these negotiations by the UK government as people elsewhere in this country,” she said.
“I want to ensure that as we go forward we have that strong union, that Northern Ireland, it is part of the United Kingdom and it’s important that we deliver for the people of Northern Ireland.
“They don’t want a hard Border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. The only proposal that has been put forward that delivers on them not having that hard Border and ensures that we don’t carve up the United Kingdom is the Chequers plan,” she added.
The Chequers plan has caused a split within the Tory party and has also faced criticism from the EU over so-called “cherry-picking” of the single market and an apparent attempt to divide its four freedoms of goods, services, labour and capital.
Its publication in July, however, was widely welcomed by those at the negotiating table as a sign at least the UK had an agreed position from which it could begin serious negotiations.
But Mr Coveney warned that the Chequers deal does not negate earlier commitments made by Mrs May.
“Brexit negotiations are ongoing and there are positive signs but, for there to be an agreement, the prime minister will need to deliver on her December and March commitments of no hard Border, no physical infrastructure, and no related checks or controls,” he told the Irish Independent.
Mrs May’s Chequers blueprint has also faced criticism from hard Brexiteers who this week will launch a ‘Chuck Chequers’ campaign with a series of rallies and newspaper advertisements.
Conservatives including David Davis and Jacob ReesMogg, former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, and Labour’s Kate Hoey, are expected to attend the Leave Means Leave events.
Later this week, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will meet EU leaders in Salzburg where an unofficial Brexit summit is expected to take place.
However, there will be no official movement on the proposals on the table.
A poll carried out by BBC radio has found that some eight out of 10 British voters think the exit negotiations have been handled badly by the UK government.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan yesterday called for a second referendum.
But the UK’s International Trade Secretary, Liam Fox, who had previously downplayed Britain’s chances of securing a deal, said Brussels had made “reassuring noises” in recent weeks in the negotiations. He added that the Chequers plan was a “reasonable, constructive way forward” in the talks.