The Taoiseach has reiterated the Irish Government’s commitment to “resolving the difficulties around the protocol” and “making progress on a European Union-UK agreement” during a visit to Northern Ireland today (Thursday, January 12).
The Tánaiste also met with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris, during a visit to Hillsborough, Co. Down today.
The Northern Ireland Secretary of State confirmed a range of issues had been discussed including what he said were the “implications that the implementation of the protocol is having on political stability”.
Further talks are expected to take place around the Northern Ireland Protocol during a meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in Dublin next week.
The visit to Northern Ireland by the Taoiseach and Tánaiste took place as the UK Government published new legislation directly connected to, what it has described as, its proposals to “fix the Northern Ireland Protocol”.
The legislation gives the Northern Ireland Secretary of State the go ahead to authorise construction of new border control posts for goods coming from Britain that may travel on to the south of Ireland.
It could set in motion the UK Government’s proposed green and red channels which would apply to goods coming into Northern Ireland from Britain that would remain there and also to goods that might travel south or to other parts of the European Union (EU).
This could have significant consequences for all-island, agri-business trade as the EU does not support the green and red channel approach.
The UK government has claimed the green and red channels are part of its plans to “fix” what it has previously described as “the practical problems” that the Northern Ireland Protocol “[has] caused in Northern Ireland.
Under the protocol, Northern Ireland has retained membership of the European Union’s (EU) single market after Brexit for goods. But checks are required to be carried out on goods arriving at Northern Ireland’s ports to comply with strict EU regulations on “food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products”.
It was previously outlined that dedicated inspection facilities would be developed at Northern Ireland ports but to date, these have not been established because of the political stalemate at Stormont over the protocol.