Foster adopts a softer line with Ireland over Europe
BREXIT CORRESPONDENT and
ARLENE FOSTER, the DUP leader, insists she does not want to “pull up the drawbridge” between the north and south in a speech aimed at defusing tensions with the Irish government.
Speaking at the Killarney Economic Conference in the south west of the republic, Ms Foster said it was “not in our interests to see the Republic of Ireland do anything other than prosper”.
She added: “The Democratic Unionist Party supported the UK leaving the European Union but, in so doing, Brexit is not about pulling up the drawbridge, building a wall and cutting ourselves off from our nearest neighbours.
“I know that we are rivals in some respects but in so many ways success for one of us is success for the other.
“As we chart a new course for the future, it is not in our interests to see the Republic of Ireland do anything other than prosper.”
It comes as the DUP launches a charm offensive in the south aimed at healing the rift between Dublin and Belfast over the Irish border question.
Tensions between north and south have been severely strained by Britain’s decision to quit the EU, as it raises the possibility of a “hard border” with customs posts on the island of Ireland.
In November, Ms Foster accused Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister, of “playing around” with Northern Ireland and taking a “reckless approach” to the border issue.
But The Sunday Telegraph understands Ms Foster, who has significant leverage in the Brexit negotiations as her party is propping up Theresa May’s government, is to take a friendlier tone with Dublin.
In December, the UK and EU agreed that the Republic and Northern Ireland adopt “regulatory alignment” on the border to prevent trade barriers. But the DUP remains concerned this could move the border to the Irish Sea, which could have a severe impact on trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, its biggest commercial partner.
There are also concerns in Belfast about preserving access to EU workers, with several major factories in Northern Ireland employing staff from the continent.
According to official statistics, the region is more reliant on trade with the rest of the UK than any other part of the world.