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The cabinet was informed that the Brexit talks were on the verge of collapsing on Monday when ministers were briefed on the prospects of a deal and on preparations for the no-deal on January 1.
Foreign Minister Simon Coveney led his Cabinet colleagues through a lengthy memorandum on Brexit issues at their meeting Tuesday morning. He warned them, according to the sources present, that the coming and going of the last days was not a “choreography” but that there was a real problem and that the Government needed to prepare for the impact of a result without agreement.
Mr. Coveney reported on the current status of the talks and also on the preparations for a late deal and no deal. However, ministers were warned that even if there is a deal, it may be a “thin deal” that will not avoid many of the downsides of a no-deal outcome.
Coveney, sources said, warned that even with a deal, Brexit will act as a drag on economic performance.
Significant disruption
Later in the Dáil, responding to calls for a Brexit debate, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that “we have to alert the House to the fact that we could very well be discussing preparations for a no-deal Brexit. The situation is very serious “.
Martin added that even if there is a deal, traders still face significant disruption. He said there are 1.5 million customs declarations a year and this would increase to 20 million a year.
When asked for guarantees on access to UK waters for Irish fishermen, Mr Martin said: “I cannot give such guarantees at this time, especially if we are heading into a no-deal scenario.”
While welcoming UK steps to drop clauses in the legislation that threatened to sideline parts of the Withdrawal Agreement, Martin also cautioned that people should not “over-interpret” UK measures to mean that an agreement about a trade deal is now inevitable.
While he said that the announced agreement on the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol in the Withdrawal Agreement and the UK government’s decision to withdraw the relevant clauses in national law was “positive and welcome”, the agreement of an agreement commercial was “much more difficult and will be difficult to solve.”
Biden Administration
There is fear in Irish government circles that the British government may be backtracking on the Northern Ireland issue to “pigeonhole” the incoming Biden government in the US and pave the way for a no-deal outcome.
President-elect Biden and senior Democrats have made it clear that they will not agree to a new trade deal between the US and the UK if the British government breaches its commitments to facilitate an open border in Ireland.
“We would all lose if there is no agreement,” Martin al Dáil told. “No deal would bring unacceptable disruption to ordinary people, workers, and businesses. I have said this to everyone who has listened to me, including European negotiators, who are eager to avoid a no-deal scenario, and to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, when I have spoken to him.
“He knows my opinion that common sense should prevail. It is in everyone’s interest that we avoid a situation without an agreement and achieve an agreement that facilitates the workers and provides clarity and certainty to the companies ”.
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