Taoiseach Leo Varadkar insists the Government is not contemplating a hard border on the island of Ireland in the event of a rejection of the draft Brexit withdrawal deal.
Uncertainty surrounds the draft Brexit withdrawal deal after the UK Prime Minister Theresa May faced backlash over the proposed deal in the UK last week.
Speaking on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics, Mr Varadkar said the focus remained on getting the deal ratified, but he added that a difficult conversation with the EU would have to take place if the UK parliament votes it down.
He said that while the Government will have “a listening ear” towards the UK government with regards to the future relationship declaration, this will not extend to the 585-page withdrawal agreement, which he said has been “agreed already by the UK government and by negotiators”.
The Taoiseach also said that a new Confidence and Supply arrangement could be wrapped up very quickly ‘if both parties wanted to’ do a deal.
Currently, there is a review underway of how the arrangement has worked to date.
Mr Varadkar insisted he is putting the needs of the country first and reiterated his offer to agree to a General Election in 2020.
