Brexit has no ‘easy answers or quick fixes’, Charlie Flanagan says

Politicians must move out of their "comfort zone" to deal with the challenges raised by Brexit, the Minister for Foreign Affairs has said.

Charlie Flanagan told the Derry Chamber of Commerce last night that the difficulties raised by Brexit were "very real, cannot be minimised" and offered no "easy answers or quick fixes".

He said there are a series of very complex negotiations ahead

“We will need to draw on all of the political, economic, social, diplomatic and technical expertise available to us on this island to ensure the best outcome for all of us,” said the Minister.

Mr Flanagan said the next North-South Ministerial Council, in Armagh on November 18th, would be "hugely significant".

“By then, we will have completed our Brexit audit of North-South programmes and will consider how we can best protect the peace process and North-South interests in the forthcoming negotiations,” he said.

Safeguard interests

“It is important that we all work together constructively to safeguard the interests of the people of this island,” Mr Flanagan added.

“A UK departure from the EU poses serious challenges, which will impact on the lives of all of our people,” the Minister said.

"Rising to those challenges requires us all to move beyond the comfort zones of politics as usual – the political leaderships in Dublin, London and Belfast must urgently and intensively work together to secure the best possible outcome for this island as a whole."