UK urged to be more specific on future links with Ireland

IRELAND’S PREMIER has urged the Government to be “more specific” about the future relationship between the UK and Ireland after Brexit, following talks with Theresa May.

After a working lunch in No 10, Leo Varadkar said Mrs May’s decision to rule out a hard border between the Republic and Northern Ireland was “very important”.

Mr Varadkar, the first EU leader to visit the PM since her keynote address in Florence last week in which she set out her hopes for a post-Brexit relationship with Brussels, also urged the DUP and Sinn Fein to find a solution to the deadlock over powersharing.

“I have always encouraged the British Government to be more specific about how they see the future relationship between Britain and Ireland and between the United Kingdom and the European Union,” he said.

Earlier in the day, the Taoiseach had warned that the October deadline for deciding whether Britain and the European Union enter a new phase of Brexit talks is looking “very challenging”.

Addressing the All-Island Civic Dialogue on Brexit, he said: “The timetable for the negotiations envisages the leaders of the 27 remaining member states – including Ireland – deciding next month whether sufficient progress has been made on the three key phase one issues.

“While we have seen some progress, significant gaps remain and time is fast running out.”

The Confederation of British Industry and the Trade Union Congress yesterday came together to call for urgent action by the UK Government and EU negotiators to guarantee citizens’ rights after March 2019.

The heads of the two organisations, Carolyn Fairbairn and Frances O’Grady, claimed the uncertainty facing an estimated four million European and UK citizens as a result of the Brexit vote “has become intolerable”.

“A clear guarantee of the right to remain for citizens in both the UK and EU27 is needed within weeks,” they said.