Martin hopeful of draft Brexit deal this week

THE Taoiseach has said he is hopeful that the outline of a Brexit deal can be reached by the end of the week.

Micheál Martin said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, at a briefing of EU prime ministers last week, had provided one of the more ‘ hopeful presentations made to date’ on the impasse.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, he said was upbeat about the prospects of a post-Brexit trade deal.

‘A deal is necessary, and a deal is in the best interest of the United Kingdom, of Ireland and of the European Union,’ Mr Martin said. ‘ The fact is that engagement has continued, and it’s fair to say the engagement has been of an intensive nature now for some weeks.’

The Taoiseach said Ms von der Leyen ‘ did say to the EU leaders last Thursday night that there are texts now on all areas’. He continued: ‘I would be hopeful that by the end of this week we could see the outline of a deal.

‘That remains to be seen. It’s down to political will, both in the United Kingdom... I’m clear the political will is there in the European Union. One must remain hopeful that a deal can be arrived at. It’s very important that it happens... A deal makes far greater sense for jobs and for the respective economies of all involved.’

He added: ‘I do sense that both negotiating teams, they’ve made progress, that’s the point. I think the presentation made last week by the president of the commission was probably one of the more hopeful presentations made to date. Therefore one has to remain hopeful.’

Mr Martin was speaking from Dublin Port, which he visited to assess preparations for Brexit.

More than 1,500 extra people have been hired to work in customs, with declarations set to increase from an average of 1.7million per year to around 20million annually.

Mr Martin admitted the added burden on the customs system will have a negative impact on traffic congestion in Dublin.

He said: ‘That which ordinarily went through here seamlessly will not go through seamlessly now. The aim of all of our preparation is to make it as fast as we possibly can.’ He added: ‘We can deal with it. We’ve built up capacity very quickly.’

Mr Martin also raised concerns that Irish businesses, particularly smaller firms, were not prepared for the changes that are coming from January 1. ‘People just need to knuckle down now,’ he said. ‘If you work with the State agencies, you will get a lot of assistance.’

‘People just need to knuckle down’