Leo Varadkar has warned that the Brexit disaster for Ireland will go “on, and on, and on” for years.
The Taoiseach said that no matter what happens after the October 31st deadline, a deal or no deal Brexit, the impact will be felt here for a long time.
He explained: “What I’m saying is that it doesn’t end on the 31st of October.
“If we have ‘no deal’ we’re going to have to talk and the first things on the agenda are going to be citizens’ rights, the financial settlement and a solution to the Irish border - before we even start to talk about a free trade agreement.
“If there is a deal, then we can start to talk about a free trade agreement and a new economic and security partnership.
“So, this goes on, and on, and on for many, many years and this doesn’t end.
“This is a permanent new status, a permanent change in the relationship between the EU and Ireland on the one hand and the UK on the other and we’re going to have to work through it.
“So Brexit isn’t a storm that we weather or a severe weather event that we prepare for- it is a permanent change in the relations between the European Union, including Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
“And I think that needs to be borne in mind.”
Mr Varadkar was speaking at Stormont Castle where he was meeting business leaders to hear their take on the latest Brexit developments.
He went on: “As we get closer to the date (October 31st) a ‘no deal’ becomes more likely and that’s why we’ve been preparing for it, even since before the referendum took place.
“There are people who perhaps have become frustrated with the Brexit process and they’re almost saying to themselves, well, at least if we have no deal on the 31st of October it’s all over and it’s all done.”
The Taoiseach then responded to a question asking if the ‘no deal,’ crash Brexit is now unavoidable.
“No I don’t accept that it is unavoidable.
“There are many ways by which ‘no deal’ can be avoided.
“Either the ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement, a further extension, or the revocation of Article 50, so there are a number of ways it can be avoided.
“I’m certainly not fatalistic about that.
“In terms of the EU position, our position is that the Withdrawal Agreement including the backstop is closed.
“But there is always room for talks and negotiations.
“For example, we can certainly make changes to the political declarations, and we’ve demonstrated before that it’s possible to give clarifications, as requested by Prime Minster May in the past.”
