Progress made on resolving impasse over Northern Ireland protocol, Tánaiste says

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin hailed “progress” in the talks between the EU and UK on the Northern Ireland protocol, saying there was “growing trust in the relationship” between the two sides.

Mr Martin was speaking after a meeting with the European Commission’s chief negotiator Maroš Šefčovič in Brussels today and amid signs that hopes are growing a breakthrough on the long-running impasse over the protocol.

Northern Secretary Chris Heaton Harris is meeting with the leaders of the Northern parties tomorrow (Wednesday), while Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Mr Martin are expected to travel to Northern Ireland on Thursday for discussions on the protocol and related issues.

Mr Martin was cautious after his meeting with Mr Sefcovic, warning that much work remains to be done to reach a final agreement on the protocol.

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“I think we all welcome the progress that was made and without doubt the agreement on data sharing is a very significant building block to a potential agreement, but obviously a lot of work remains to be done,” he said.

“It’s at times has been torturous, and at times it’s been very difficult and remains difficult, and I’ve no doubt there are many, many difficulties yet that both sides have,” he continued. “There’s obviously a journey to travel yet.”

Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit arrangements, designed to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, have been the topic of a long-standing dispute between Brussels and London.

The British government pushed for changes to the deal reached in 2019, arguing that the arrangements are too strict on trade between Britain and the North, and at times objecting to the role of the European Court of Justice in arbitrating disputes.

But the emergence of pressing issues since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 pushed both sides towards finding an agreement, because of a desire to be able to work together on broader geopolitical topics, Mr Martin said.

Northern Ireland has been without a governing executive since it held elections last May in which Sinn Féin won the most seats, the first time a nationalist party has done so.

The Democratic Unionist Party has said it will not return to powersharing until its objections to the Protocol are resolved. The Northern Secretary has said that he will call elections on January 19, but there is a growing expectation this would be postponed to allow further talks make progress. However, sources on all sides expect new elections before a new executive is formed.

With a softening British position, there is likely to be intense focus on the coming weeks on the DUP, as it considers whether to agree to any new deal that could leave the protocol intact, but applied with what one source called “the lightest of light touches”, meaning there would be very few actual checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

Speaking to journalists at the Government housing summit, Mr Varadkar said that the agreement on sharing customs data was a “breakthrough”

“It does open the door to a further agreement on how we can make the protocol more workable and more acceptable. But those negotiations and those talks are really only just under way,” he warned.

He said that he would “compare notes” tomorrow night with the Tánaiste and “work on this jointly over the next couple of weeks”.