Brexit: Arlene Foster signals DUP shift

Good morning. DUP leader Arlene Foster came to Dublin yesterday evening to attend a dinner given by the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, and she came with something to say: the DUP could accept post-Brexit arrangements that are specific to Northern Ireland, as long as they 1) are approved by the North's politicians and 2) don't affect the constitutional position.

This is a significant shift from the DUP, and the immediate hope in Dublin and London was it could enable some form of Northern Ireland-only backstop. But hold the weddin’: Mrs Foster also stressed the backstop as currently envisaged for the North would have to go and that Northern membership of the single market and the customs union, which could entail a customs border between the North and Britain, is a non-runner.

That still leaves an awful lot of ground to make up between the positions of the British government and the EU.

The truth is that even with DUP movement, pessimism is growing in Dublin and Brussels about the prospects for a deal. As we note in an analysis piece today, tomorrow will be 30 days since Boris Johnson met Angela Merkel and enthusiastically accepted her challenge of coming up with a solution to the Border problem in 30 days.

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The British government has not yet tabled any concrete written proposals to the EU about how it wants to replace the backstop. And nobody is waiting in Brussels with bated breath.

For her part, Arlene didn't wait around to play drinking games after dinner with the lads from the Chamber - she dropped into Government Buildings to meet the Taoiseach for a chinwag. As all the best statements say: "They agreed to stay in touch." Lovely. Our front page story is here.

Meanwhile, Jean-Claude Juncker struck a pessimistic note in his address to MEPs, Patrick Smyth reports.

Elsewhere, Newton Emerson sees the outline of a role for Stormont in a new deal that everyone can live with.

Death threats on the Border

Our lead story today is on the attack on Quinn Group executive Kevin Lunney, who was, in the words of the police, abducted and "beaten to within an inch of his life" by a group of masked men on the Fermanagh-Cavan border.

Our story says the group’s executives and directors were sent death threats some months ago. There have been persistent attacks against the property of the new owners and management of the Quinn group.

Local businessman Sean Quinn and his family built up the group before losing it after disastrous gambles on Anglo-Irish Bank shares. Mr Quinn and his family have repeatedly condemned the violence.

There is likely to be strong political reaction to the attack, though observers have noted that not a single arrest has been made either side of the Border.

Background to the story is here and here.

Best reads

Miriam on yesterday's Dáil exchanges on housing.

Ruth Coppinger's revelations in the Dáil that she had been contacted by a woman whose landlord offered her free accommodation in return for sex is featured everywhere today. Our story is here.

City council chief Owen Keegan appeals to councillors not to cut property tax.

Bobby McDonagh on the crumbling of Brexit fantasies.

How many Twitter followers do you need? Ask Adam Smith.

They're not having truck with this climate strike nonsense in Blackrock College. This is not surprising. Have you ever seen the queue of Range Rovers on the Rock Road in the morning?

Playbook

The Taoiseach is off to the ploughing today so expect plenty of pictures of him trying to look interested in animals and farm machinery. Also, pictures of his entourage looking nervous that beef protesters might show up.

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe is hosting British chancellor of the exchequer Sajid Javid in Farmleigh. Hopefully nobody will refer to the disparaging nickname he has acquired in Whitehall after Boris Johnson took to announcing spending commitments: Chino - chancellor in name only.

In the Dáil, it’ll be a quiet day because of the above, though the House is due to sit until 8pm. Minister for Culture Josepha Madigan takes oral pqs and then some able substitute - usually the Tánaiste - will stand in for the Taoiseach at Leaders’ Questions at noon.

There are no votes today because everyone’s at the ploughing, but there are statements on climate change in the afternoon.

There's a handful of committee meetings, but the only public one is a grilling for Bord na gCon at the Public Accounts Committee this morning. Full details on Oireachtas.ie.

That's our lot for today. If you're going to the ploughing, bring the suncream. And the wellies. If you want to keep up with political events, stay tuned to irishtimes.com.

And whatever you do, make sure to have an utterly, thoroughly, fruity day.