Martin hopeful ‘ common sense prevails’ on Brexit
Boost over ‘ intensity of crunch talks’
BREXIT talks are continuing with a “level of intensity” as Taoiseach Micheal Martin said he hopes common sense will prevail.
Mr Martin was speaking after the British- Irish Council meeting yesterday which was hosted by First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon.
He said: “I got a sense this morning the talks are continuing with that level of intensity that is required.
“We all expressed a common desire that the optimal outcome now for our citizens and for those we represent is to get a sensible, comprehensible trade agreement that prevents any further shocks to the economy and challenges to people.”
Mr Martin added there are i ssues around “the level playing field” for the UK in terms of access to the single market and also discussions on fisheries.
He said: “I hope and my view is we owe
further
it to the people we represent to ensure that common sense prevails and we get an agreement here that protects jobs and our respective economies because we’re had one hell of a shock from Covid.
“It ’s been ver y damaging t o our economies and created a lot of unemployment and the last thing we need now is a no- deal Brexit to just add significantly to that type of negative shock which people could do without now.”
Speaking t o S ky News aft er t he meeting, Mr Martin said “greater co- ordination” is needed to tackle Covid- 19.
He added the trajectory of the virus here is “now downwards” but “we still have some distance to go”.
He added: “We intend to keep the pressure on the virus so we can open up again in December and beyond into the months of January, February and March and hopefully a vaccine will arrive towards the end of the year that will give some hope to people for 2021.”