Varadkar hopes he is ‘not proven right on risk to Border’
TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has said he hoped he would “not be proven right” about the risk of a return to violence if Brexit results in a hard Border.
Mr Varadkar highlighted instances of attacks at the Border with fellow European leaders last week, prompting DUP MP Sammy Wilson to label him as “vile”.
The unionist politician claimed Mr Varadkar’s remarks would lead to “republican madmen” using the “false fears he is stirring up” to recruit people. Mr Wilson added the Taoiseach’s behaviour was “despicable”.
Mr Varadkar responded to Mr Wilson’s outburst, pointing out that the concerns he was raising about any Border infrastructure becoming a target had also been raised by senior PSNI officers.
Last year, then-PSNI deputy chief constable Drew Harris – now the Garda Commissioner – warned British MPs that Border infrastructure would be “an obvious point for dissident groups to rally around and attack”.
Mr Varadkar said he raised a “reasonable concern” with fellow leaders at the European Council summit.
He credited the EU with creating regulatory alignment between north and the Republic and the environment that allowed for the Good Friday Agreement.
“I think any change to that environment is a risk for the future and we should be wise to that. I really hope I’m not proven right,” Mr Varadkar added.
He said the Government still wanted the so-called backstop, which would avoid a hard Border even in the case of a no-deal Brexit.
Mr Varadkar said the UK government promised this in principle and in writing, and added: “I’ve every confidence that the UK government will honour that commitment.”
Separately, Fianna Fáil Brexit spokesperson Lisa Chambers claimed the Government was ill-prepared for all possible Brexit outcomes.
She cited a report by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) that said the “macro-economic and fiscal forecasts underpinning Budget 2019 [which ultimately inform future spending plans] are based on the assumption of an ‘orderly’ Brexit”.
Ms Chambers claimed that the Government’s approach was “reckless”.
A spokesperson for Tánaiste Simon Coveney claimed Ms Chamber’s statement was “ill-informed”, saying: “All government departments and the European Commission have prepared for all possible outcomes on Brexit.”