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Home , Leo Varadkar, Paschal Donohoe, Regina Doherty, Simon Coveney

the times | Friday November 16 2018 1R M 9 News CLODAGH KILCOYNE/REUTERS Talks to extend Chaos a boost for Irish rule Analysis Feargal Cochrane e are now moving from in theory to WBrexit in practice. Anglo-Irish relations, already set to intensify strained, will deteriorate further if there is no deal, especially if a hard border returns. Niamh Lyons Ireland Political Editor secure support for the document in the This is bad news for the DUP, House of Commons. midwife to the British A press conference was held in Gov- government’s failure. That should Tough talk between Fine Gael and Fi- ernment Buildings within an hour of throw a lifeline to the Ulster anna Fáil on the extension of the confi- the publication of the draft deal during Unionist Party, and it will be a dence and supply deal between the par- which Mr Varadkar said it was “strong- test of its leadership to see if it ties is set to intensify in the wake of the er” than last December’s joint agree- can win back the support it has agreement of the draft Brexit with- ment, a document that infuriated un- lost to the DUP since 1998. drawal treaty. ionists and Brexiteers. The irony of Brexit is that The government has been buoyed by , Fianna Fáil’s Brexit though the DUP supported it and the outcome and is eager to explore spokeswoman, described the tao- Sinn Féin opposed it, it has the whether there is potential to extend the iseach’s tone as “very self-congratulato- capacity to precipitate Irish agreement with the main opposition ry” and claimed it was “unhelpful”. unity. Sinn Féin is emboldened in party. Failing that it is likely an election “I think the government need to be its demands for a border poll, and will be called. far more aware of their actions and nationalists will find the idea of At a meeting of Fine Gael junior and their self-congratulations. Patting reunification more attractive if it senior ministers on Wednesday night, themselves on the back here in brings with it EU membership. said the window to hold a will absolutely negatively feed into Unionists may reinterpret their pre-Christmas election had “almost what’s happening in the House of Com- positions, as the union was based closed”. mons,” she said. on economic benefit and fear of a It is understood the has “The government now needs to calm theocratic Catholic Irish free given strong consideration to holding a down, and it needs to give the UK gov- state. Ireland will be much more national ballot but the uncertainty over ernment space.” attractive to unionists in 2020 whether the draft treaty will be ratified , the foreign affairs than it was in 1920. in the House of Commons in the com- minister and tánaiste, also faced criti- This is worst-case-scenario ing weeks could have an impact on cism in the Dáil during leaders’ ques- thinking — if you are a unionist those plans. tions yesterday. at least — and it may work out , the finance minis- “The time for victory and celebration less traumatically. Yet Brexit is a ter, also spoke at the meeting and said is when this draft agreement is accept- roll of the dice on the livelihoods he expected talks with Fianna Fáil to ed and ratified by all,” Darragh O’Brien, of people in Northern Ireland, intensify, while , the of Fianna Fáil, said. Ireland, Britain and the EU. social protection minister, said the next “The tánaiste and the ministers None of the recent developments ten days would be important. should be acutely aware of the impact will help Northern Ireland to put It is understood that Simon Harris, of comments made here in Ireland dur- its political institutions back the health minister, also spoke at the ing what is a very sensitive and volatile together; indeed, when the time meeting and told negotiators that there time in the UK. I ask the tánaiste and comes to do so the foundation should be no “faffing around” and that his colleagues in government to try, stone of a strong London-Dublin the talks should reach a swift conclu- from today, to resist the temptation to mutual guarantor relationship sion. brief the press with victorious state- may not be there. The parties have been meeting for ments, such as we have seen in some of It is worth remembering, the past fortnight in an attempt to re- the Irish newspapers today.” though, that there is little public view the previous deal but Fine Gael is Mr Coveney defended the decision to pressure on either the DUP or seeking for the talks on renewing the hold a press conference to explain the Sinn Féin to restore the power- agreement to begin swiftly. Irish elements of the deal. “Neither the sharing institutions to deal with In a sign of rising tensions between taoiseach or any other ministers, in- Brexit. They are more likely to the parties the government has been cluding me, will claim victories or any- be rewarded for not doing so, and forced to defend itself against claims of thing like that. That has not been hap- punished if they do. triumphalism over the draft Brexit pening. Yesterday we were very careful Feargal Cochrane is vice-chair of withdrawal agreement. not to comment when it was not helpful the Political Studies Association Fianna Fáil warned the minority to do so,” he said. and professor of international coalition that claiming a “victory” Leading article, page 19 Leo Varadkar was criticised by Fianna Fáil’s Brexit spokeswoman for seeming conflict analysis at Kent University could affect ’s ability to David Davin-Power, page 20 “self-congratulatory” while he addressed a press conference about the deal North ‘on a platter’ for EU PM staggers on Uncertainty remains over

Niamh Lyons Ireland Political Editor the , the integrity of with draft deal the United Kingdom or we vote for a flights, warns airport boss Theresa May has “put Northern Ire- vassal state.” Continued from front page land on a platter” to surrender to the Sammy Wilson, the DUP’s Brexit Brexit put “real jobs” at risk. That is a Michelle Devane that that’s been averted,” Mr Harrison EU, Democratic Unionist politicians spokesman, said the deal was a case of message Mrs May will hammer home said. “But beyond that there’s consider- claimed yesterday. “Northern Ireland being put on a plat- today as she seeks to sell her deal to the A no-deal Brexit could lead to the UK able uncertainty.” The British prime minister is reliant ter as an object to surrender to the EU”. British public on a radio phone-in after falling out of aviation agreements Cathy Mannion, the aviation regula- on the support of the DUP’s ten West- , the Labour MP and a defiant press conference in Downing “without a parachute”, the managing tion commissioner, said that unless an minster MPs for a majority in the former minister who was born in Street during which she made clear that director of Dublin Airport has warned. accord was in place after Brexit, British House of Commons but the party has Northern Ireland, said: “Will she [Mrs she wouldn’t quit. Vincent Harrison said that European carriers would not be able to benefit vowed to vote the Brexit deal down. May] not accept that at this stage not “I believe with every fibre of my being efforts had reduced the risk of flights from any deal made by Europe. She said In the House of Commons yesterday only are we all being collectively sold that the course I have set out is the being grounded if the UK left the EU it could have a “very significant” impact Nigel Dodds, the party’s Westminster out, but the people of Northern Ireland right one for our country and all our without an agreement, but there was on airlines and flights. leader, told Mrs May that the agree- are being sold out absolutely?” people,” she said. “Leadership is about still uncertainty. The EU had negotiat- Ms Mannion said that planning for ment threatened the integrity of the In response, Mrs May said that the taking the right decisions, not the ed all of the bilateral arrangements after Brexit was important for Ireland UK and risked isolating Northern Ire- backstop was something that neither easy ones.” between European countries in recent because 38 per cent of all traffic from land from the rest of the country. side wished to see being exercised. Leo Varadkar, the taoiseach, spoke to years, he noted, “so technically if the Irish airports was to the UK. “I could today stand here and take the Leo Varadkar, the taoiseach, and Mrs May by phone yesterday and UK leaves without a deal they fall out of The conference was told that Ireland prime minister through the list of pro- Simon Coveney, the tánaiste, met offered her help in shoring up support that arrangement”. was far more affected than other EU27 mises and pledges that she made to this leaders of a number Northern Ireland’s for the deal. It is understood the pair Mr Harrison made the comments at nations because Dublin to London was house and to us privately about the parties yesterday. pledged to work together on the future a Brexit Insti- the busiest international route in future of Northern Ireland and the Speaking afterwards, Michelle relationship to ensure that the backstop tute seminar yesterday as the European Europe and second busiest in the world. future relationship with the EU but I O’Neill, Sinn Féin’s , said: never needs to be invoked. Commission moved to assure the Cathal Guiomard, a DCU lecturer, fear it would be a waste of time since she “The DUP do not speak for the people In the Dáil yesterday the foreign aviation industry that flights between said aviation was burdened by archaic clearly doesn’t listen,” he said. of the North on Brexit and in fact minister, Simon Coveney, acknowl- the UK and the EU would continue in international rules going back to end of Mr Dodds congratulated the British appear intent on driving our economy edged the challenge of “selling” the deal the event of no deal. the Second World War. “Nobody can cabinet ministers who had resigned over the cliff.” in Westminster but insisted that Mrs “We’ve probably got to a situation fly anywhere without the permission of over the deal. The SDLP, the Alliance Party and the May had “a remarkable capacity to get where that first, worst-case scenario — the neighbouring government,” he said, “The choice is now clear, we stand up also attended the meeting things done” and had the fortitude re- instead of an ash cloud, we’ve a lack of adding that this was the reason aviation for the United Kingdom, the whole of in Government Buildings. quired to get the draft treaty ratified. paper keeping flights on the ground — agreements were crucial.