Irish Govt Accused Of 'Another Display Of Disrespect'

The Irish government have been accused of "another display of disrespect" following the news that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is visiting various parts of Northern Ireland "outside of normal protocol".

Making the criticism, Lagan Valley DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson, said: "Leo Varadkar's visit is another demonstration of the poor manners and disrespect which appears to be the Irish Government's Brexit strategy. Having told unionists just over a month ago that he recognised statements and actions by the Irish government were unhelpful or intrusive, he follows this up with a visit which no local representative is informed about and none of the other normal protocol is followed.

"It is increasingly apparent that the Irish government does not seem to care about securing a sensible and pragmatic outcome from Brexit which can work for both Northern Ireland and the Republic. Their preferred approach is to use Brexit in whatever way possible to undermine Northern Ireland and particularly its constitutional position."

Mr Donaldson said that while Mr Varadkar claims to want to find solutions to the issues affecting Northern Ireland in ongoing Brexit negotiations, "there is little demonstration of him working constructively to find them".

(MH/LM)