Brexit: Protocol issues can be 'ironed out quickly'

Congressman Richard Neal (left) met Ireland's foreign minister Simon Coveney on Tuesday

Issues arising from the Northern Ireland Protocol can be "ironed out quickly", a US Congressman has said.

Democrat Richard Neal, who is leading a delegation to Ireland, said it was "up to London to help us all find a solution".

The UK government has announced plans to introduce a law to change the post-Brexit trade deal for Northern Ireland.

On Tuesday, Ireland's foreign affairs minister said concerns could be responded to in a "significant way".

The protocol is a part of the UK's Brexit deal with the EU to ensure the continuation of free trade across the Irish land border.

It does this by keeping Northern Ireland aligned with the EU single market for goods.

However, this has resulted in additional checks being placed on some goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Unionists have argued this has undermined Northern Ireland's place in the UK, with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) blocking the establishment of Northern Ireland's assembly and executive in protest.

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Speaking at the Department of Foreign Affairs after meeting Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, Mr Neal said the dispute appeared to be "manufactured".

"I have on this delegation people who are experts at trade and they also would confirm that they think these issues on the trade front, if that's really the dispute, could be ironed out quickly," he said.

In a tweet, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said if Mr Neal believed the Good Friday Agreement could be protected by "ignoring the totality of unionist opposition to the protocol" then he "merely exposes his own ignorance and prejudice and slavish adherence to Sinn Féin dogma".

'Serious engagement'

Simon Coveney, the Irish foreign affairs minister, said the American delegation was involved in a "very serious engagement on the detail of the issues that we're grappling with at the moment".

He repeated his statement that the EU wanted to work with the UK through negotiation "to be able to respond to the legitimate concerns that have been raised in relation to how the protocol has been implemented".

This was in particular reference to the "concerns raised by the unionist community in Northern Ireland", he added.

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The congressional delegation also met Irish President Michael D Higgins on Tuesday, with the president thanking Mr Neal for his "informed and careful comments" about the complexities of Northern Ireland.

Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Doug Beattie, who is to meet Mr Neal on Thursday, said he will tell the delegation the "consent principle must apply equally to all communities".

"The people of Northern Ireland did not have a voice in the design of the protocol," Mr Beattie explained.

"If they had, I am confident checks on goods moving to Northern Ireland from Great Britain as a final destination would never have been included in any trade deal with the EU."