The Taoiseach said yesterday he hopes Jeremy Corbyn will show leadership and come up with a compromised Brexit plan with Theresa May.
Leo Varadkar added the Prime Minister’s offer to engage with the Labour leader was “timely”.
He told the Dail: “I don’t know if Mr Corbyn will rise to the occasion, whether he will show leadership and come up with a compromised plan with Prime Minister May.
“I hope he does but we will see if that happens in the next couple of days.”
Mr Varadkar said growing frustration in Brussels over Brexit “is worrying”.
He added: “There is a real concern that if the UK stays in the EU beyond the date of the European elections and doesn’t hold the European elections then there is a risk parliament will not be properly constituted.
Fifth of British public would prefer Northern Ireland leave UK and join Republic
“Therefore any decisions made by the European Parliament, whether on legislation, on budgets, on the appointment of a new Commission and Commission President, may not be valid.
“There’s a lot of frustration among the majority of countries that aren’t going to be adversely affected by Brexit, that the concentration on Brexit is taking us away from other important issues.”
Mr Varadkar is to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Dublin on Thursday.
They will also participate in a roundtable discussion with people from the North and border area, who will share their experience and views on the impact of a hard border.
The Taoiseach also said the backstop will ensure the boundary is “tariff free, friction-fee, quota-free and bureaucracy-free”.
“I don’t know for certain it’s possible to come up with an alternative that does that other than the UK remaining in the EU or staying in the single market and customs union.”
UK MPs reject every option for a way forward in indicative votes on Brexit
Earlier, Tanaiste Simon Coveney told RTE’s Today With Sean O’Rourke the Government would not allow a hard border.
He said: “We will not accept physical border infrastructure.
“We will put a plan in place that doesn’t involve physical border infrastructure but that doesn’t mean it won’t have negative impact particularly for businesses in Northern Ireland trading south because there will be.”
