IRELAND has dropped talk of a No Deal and now insists there is a good chance a trade pact can be done.
Its foreign minister Simon Coveney said overcoming the obstacles was “very doable”.
He played down Boris Johnson’s move to overwrite parts of last year’s Brexit deal in a softening of Dublin’s attacks on No 10.
Mr Coveney added the PM’s concerns would “become irrelevant” once a deal was done. He said: “The incentive is there. We know what the outstanding issues are and they are not insurmountable.”
Dublin now says the easiest way to solve the row over a hard border between Britain and the Republic would be a free trade deal without barriers.
Earlier this week, Irish PM Micheal Martin warned talks were heading for failure because of the dispute. It came as UK chief Brexit negotiator David Frost was urged to remain steadfast in haggling with the EU over access to our waters.
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations said taking them back was a litmus test of UK sovereignty.
Britain and Norway yesterday agreed a deal on fishing access which No 10 hopes to mirror in the EU negotiations.
A compromise floated by the UK to phase out EU fishing quotas over three years met with a frosty reception.