Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Brexit to be a tall order
NI ‘vulnerable’ to bad deal
NORTHERN Ireland is potentially the part of Europe most vulnerable to the impact of a bad Brexit deal, the Republic’s Foreign Minister has warned.
Newly-appointed Simon Coveney stressed the importance of getting an agreement that reflected the region’s circumstances as he took part in talks to restore powersharing at Stormont. Mr Coveney said the start of Brexit negotiations in Brussels underlined the urgent need to get devolution back up and running in Belfast. He added: “I think it’s fair to say Northern Ireland is perhaps the most vulnerable part of Europe to a bad Brexit deal should that happen.” Mr Coveney said he would highlight the particular issues facing the region – in regard to the peace process and cross-border movement – when he met the EU’S chief negotiator Michel Barnier in Luxembourg on Tuesday. But he said those arguments also needed to be made by a serving first and deputy first minister at Stormont. Mr Coveney added: “I think there is a sense of urgency here that Northern Ireland needs its own voice, in the context of Brexit in particular, as well as so many other issues that need to be resolved, and that without that voice people in Northern Ireland will be disadvantaged in a major way and will be essentially relying on others to make the case for them.” Senior DUP representative and former Stormont minister Simon Hamilton also struck a positive tone during a day that saw the first roundtable plenary session of a talks process that started last week. He said: “There have been positive engagements today between ourselves and Sinn Fein. I think we will continue to work away on that to try to deliver devolution, to get devolution back up and running again for the people of Northern Ireland so we can deliver for them on the issues of health, education, jobs and the economy.” Sinn Fein’s Stormont leader Michelle O’neill, said her party was up for striking a deal. She added: “I can tell you, we are here wanting to find a deal, wanting to make the institutions work, wanting to deliver good public services, wanting to afford people their rights, wanting to deal with the issue of Brexit, but it has to be done on the basis of equality, respect and integrity in government.”
I think they’re is a sense of urgency that it needs its own voice SIMON COVENEY STORMONT YESTERDAY