Developments in Ireland with regard to the post-Brexit border between the Republic and Northern Ireland could tear apart the Tory-DUP deal that is shoring up Theresa May’s zombie government.
Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has gone against his predecessor Enda Kenny and has flatly rejected the British government’s idea of a ‘tech border’, claiming that it will restrict movement between the two countries and threatens the Northern Irish peace process.
Sources in Ireland have told the SKWAWKBOX that there has been a “massive row” resulting in the decision to reject the tech border – surveillance cameras and computer systems supposedly allowing a smooth flow of traffic and people – outright.
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney – who recently announced that Ireland would veto any post-Brexit UK-EU trade deal if the government threatened the peace process by its collaboration with the DUP – told a recent meeting of EU ministers:
What we do not want to pretend is that we can solve the problems of the border on the island of Ireland through technical solutions like cameras and pre-registration and so on. That is not going to work.
The SKWAWKBOX’s Irish sources said,
There’s been a massive row on brexit border – they’ve gone against Kenny and are categorically rejecting a tech border. As I predicted, the cheapest safest solution is irish sea – that’s what they will publish tomorrow.
Take cover because the DUP will go ballistic – a sea border turns Ireland into a whole country again with no real sense of the north in the uk. Down it all comes.
If the DUP’s reaction – as seems likely – is as ferociously against the idea of a sea border as sources predict, this issue could easily be enough to bring down the government, forcing the Tories to attempt to govern as an outright minority or triggering another election.
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Ulster says “NO”, Tories must GO.
Isn’t it another reason why May prefers No Deal? Presumably this was foreseen and lay behind the DUP deal in the first place, knowing they wouldn’t have it? It seems they’ll go to the wire without agreement in the hope European business will rescue them in their own interest with a last minute stitch up?
A divided Ireland was never a good idea so the land border always had a sell by date. Add to this the North voted to remain in the EU like it’s neighbour in the South. It makes sense, therefore, to unite Ireland into one ‘Republic of Ireland’ and let the whole island remain part of the EU with no land border. Why would anyone object to this obvious solution?
One reason that would cause me to object is that uniting the country means women in Northern Ireland will have their rights diminished even further in comparison to women in the UK, thanks to the 8th Amendment of the Irish constitution, which in practice means pregnant womens lives are of less value than the unborn inside them. Strangely enough this fact tends to be forgotten in the romanticism of a “United Ireland”
The division has. as you say always had it’s sell by date but it’s a very complicated scenario. It’s more religious based than anything else and you’ll have a hard job trying to convince the unionists to accept any lowering of their power/status. If I could compare it with anything it would be the way blacks were treated in the American south. Admittedly it has moved on a bit but the religious division is still there
The religious aspect is simply history; sure the Catholics were nationalist, the Protestants were unionist – and so the community divided (exacerbated by the artificial borders created by the UK).
While the religious aspect of of diminishing relevance, it has left a divided community.
And – until the Good Friday agreement, the unionists got railways, jobs, investment, better schools, better housing than the republicans.
Since the GFA, things have been fairer … but it ain’t perfect, and there’s almost a century of bitterness to deal with. On both sides. Plus the protestants’ understandable fear that they’d be the poor relations in a united Ireland. Unlikely; but understandable.
Religion may have been the root of it – but it’s not really the issue now.
Reblogged this on Earth Changing Extremities.
Sea Border was always the most sensible solution.
Mind you, so was a united Ireland.
See if the DUP don’t like it they can go back to where they came from, you know, the type of advice the like to spit in the faces of others!
REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL, PART 4!
THE TORIES ON THE ROPES, “AGAIN”!
LETTING THE BRITISH PUBLIC DOWN WITH THIER BUSY BODY MEDLING!
“GET OUT OF THIS ONE MAY”!
ANOTHER ROUNDABOUT TO NEGOTIATE!
“WHAT WE GOING T DO NOW”?
THROW THE TOWEL IN YOU’VE RUN OUT OF IDEAS!
Whatever Toy-DUP deal is beyond belief. Hoping it will be sorted out different way, as you suggest, general election this year is necessary in order to avoid any chaos or decline of the relationship Ireland, Northern Ireland and UK mainland. We say, Tory-DUP deal is like waking up sleeping baby, having nice dream.