A DEAL on the Northern Ireland protocol is now “close”, it was claimed today.
Matthew Robinson, the Chairman of the Northern Ireland Conservatives’, told GB News he was optimistic an agreement would be announced shortly.
He told Alastair Stewart: “I think it’s clear the UK Government has really turbocharged its urgency to get a deal over the line. I think we’re close. I’m optimistic we’re close. There has been some speculation in the media that a deal has perhaps been reached by both sides.
“There are still some technical issues that still need to be worked out, but I mean, compromise is the name of the game here. There will have to be a compromise between both sides. I would say some of the technical solutions that the UK Government has been advocating for from the start, like a green lane for goods coming from GB into Northern Ireland, are important.
“I think we need to get away from the panic, grandstanding and the politics of it. We need to find a workable solution that benefits our businesses in Northern Ireland that have been absolutely hammered by the COVID pandemic, and by the energy crisis.’
Mr Robinson said uncertainty was dangerous for Northern Ireland.
He said: “The longer this uncertainty goes on, I do worry about its long-term impact on the Northern Irish economy.
”I think the UK Government has always recognised the fact that the EU would try and protect the European single market. I mean, that’s a fair and reasonable thing to expect. But cutting through that, let’s be really clear about this. Things like sandwiches coming in from GB into Northern Ireland and supermarkets pose absolutely zero threat to the European single market.
“The UK government’s Green Lane proposal should have been accepted long ago. Yes, there are some very legitimate constitutional concerns amongst unionism in Northern Ireland. There is some speculation that maybe there’s a compromise afoot there whereby only Northern Irish courts can effectively refer decisions. I’d be very curious to see the detail on that if indeed there is a compromise afoot.”
On the need to balance the demands of the DUP, he added: “The Democratic Unionist Party was very clear when they went into the Assembly election about what their red lines were and what their mandate was.
“And while I have some disagreements with them, over their approach to the protocol, they did receive a legitimate democratic mandate from a huge chunk of the Unionist community in Northern Ireland, so that both sides of the community need to be respected. That’s an integral part of the Good Friday Agreement. So, whatever deal the UK Government secures, and I hope there’s a bit of room on the DUP side, but it’s going to have to satisfy some of the concerns of unionism.”
