Taoiseach tells farmers and fishermen not to take risks with Brexit talks

The European Union and United Kingdom are, when you remove the rhetoric, not too far apart when it comes to what they want from a post-Brexit trade deal, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said.

During a speech to the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) in Dublin on Friday, Mr Varadkar struck a fairly optimistic note about the prospects of a deal being secured between the parties.

“I am confident we can get a good deal. The good news is that I don’t think the two parties – the EU on one side and Britain on the other – are all that far apart,” he said.

“We broadly agree that we want there to be no quotas, no tariffs, no taxes and the minimum amount of bureaucracy and checks as possible. And that’s really important, particularly in Ireland for our exporters, our businesses, our agrifood sector, our rural economy and 200,000 people whose jobs depends on trade with the UK.”

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Potential dangers

However, Mr Varadkar said there was a need to be realistic about potential dangers that could arise.

“A failure to secure a trade deal would be a major threat, and an existential threat if anything to our economy in 2021. So we need that deal,” he said.

“The UK would like to see a trade deal this year and it’s possible, particularly if the new trade deal is very similar to the current arrangements.”

Mr Varadkar said the 11-month time frame set out by the UK side “will be difficult” and that there was scope to extend the period of talks if needs be.

“Now, I know the British government has ruled that out, but it’s still there in the withdrawal agreement,” he said.

In his address to the IIEA, Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin said he had concerns about the talks despite the Government’s claim that it had secured a “bulletproof” settlement of Ireland’s concerns.

“We are now vulnerable to the capricious and mendacious politics of Boris Johnson, who has legislated to rule out any extension to talks beyond the end of this year and who is hostile to any level playing field for rights and standards,” he said.

“At best, we are likely to see a minimalist trade deal in goods, which will do serious harm to the Irish economy . . . We may even see the UK engaging in attempts to undermine its neighbours by lowering its standards on work and environment. And a hard Brexit is still a very real possibility.”

Urgency required

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said the State must step up efforts to be ready for whatever eventuality comes out of the trade negotiations. He said much more urgency was required to ensure that indigenous Irish business dependent on the UK market were fully prepared.

“The hard Brexit which is envisaged in the withdrawal agreement will permanently cut Ireland’s growth prospects. And unless the UK government develops some credible and secure long-term connection to the EU, exchange-rate volatility will continue to threaten our competitiveness,” he warned.

In his speech to the IIEA, he also criticised Sinn Féin for being “Ireland’s most consistent and obsessively anti-EU party” and claimed “Euroscepticism is hard-wired into the party”.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said he party now regards itself as “euro-critical” and that the EU was far from perfect.

“The privatisation agenda, growing federalism and the eroding of State sovereignty, as well the push for a militarised EU, are all issues that have left European citizens alienated from the EU,” she said.