Hard border will not return for Northern Ireland

ENDA Kenny and Theresa May yesterday said they didn’t want a return to the “border of the past” between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

The Taoiseach added he would help the UK get a “friction-free” trading relationship with the EU after Brexit.

Mr Kenny told a press conference in Dublin: “Our two governments are agreed that a close and friction-free economic and trading relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, including Ireland, is in our very best interests.

“And as the UK prepares for its formal notification under Article 50, we want to see that these deep trading ties between our two countries are recognised and facilitated. That will continue to be an absolute priority for my Government, not just in our discussions with the British government, but also with our EU partners as we prepare for the negotiation process on the EU side of the table.”

Prime Minister Mrs May has said Britain will not remain a full member of the EU’S Customs Union, potentially meaning more border controls between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

The border would be Britain’s only land frontier with the EU once it leaves the bloc. She said: “We need to find a solution which enables us to have as seamless and frictionless a border as possible so that we can continue to see the trade, the everyday movements we have up until now.”

There have been suggestions that leaving the tariff-free Customs Union could imperil the soft border and see the reintroduction of customs checks and controls unless an agreement can be reached.

Mrs May said staying fully in the Customs Union would leave the UK unable to agree free trade deals with other countries from around the world, which she is aiming to do.

But she added she was working towards maintaining the border rules currently in place and stressed that Britain and Ireland had open borders “long before either of us were members of the European Union”.