Leo Varadkar said Fine Gael is the party to "unify our island" in his lifetime.

Mr Watt, in his conclusion of the BBC piece, says that what "alarms so many Tories" is that "after centuries of troubled Anglo-Irish relations it is the smaller of the two islands which appears to be exercising greater power for the first time".

'The message must go out to all countries... that this is a British government that doesn't necessarily keep its word,' Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said in the wake of 'alarming' comments by Boris Johnson's former aide Dominic Cummings.

Approximately 1,000 new veterinary and customs inspectors are set to be hired to deal with Brexit, An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, has announced this evening.

Alternative arrangements to inspections on the border in Ireland cannot be a replacement for the backstop, the Taoiseach has told reporters in Brussels.

'There is no way Ireland will vote for the EU-Mercosur agreement if Brazil does not honour its environmental commitments' Leo Varadkar said.

German chancellor warns against return of border and recalls death toll during Troubles. / Angela Merkel has likened the Irish border question to the fall of the Iron Curtain and said Theresa May must bring worked-out proposals to a meeting of EU leaders next week.

Just hours before letter to Donald Tusk, one EU leader insisted withdrawal agreement ‘cannot be reopened’.

Talks in jeopardy as no breakthrough emerges in meeting with Ursula von der Leyen.

The new foreign policy formula is simple, Trump tweets and the Tory leadership hopeful jumps.

Luxembourg talks are not expected to deliver a breakthrough as the clock ticks down to 31 October.

The Prime Minister has written to the EU demanding the 'backstop' is scrapped - but he got short shrift from Leo Varadkar

The European Union is "open but not convinced" by the UK PM's new proposals for a Brexit deal with the EU, the president of the European Council says.

UK proposals "do not match even remotely" Northern Irish backstop plan, says steering group.

'It does not reopen the withdrawal agreement or undermine the backstop or its application' says Leo Varadkar

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said that the Cabinet’s Brexit sub-committee met on Monday to “essentially dust down and restart contingency preparations” in case a trade war develops with the UK.

The president of the European Council has said he is open to a “long” delay to Brexit if the UK needs time to rethink its strategy to leaving the bloc.

Leo Varadkar says UK has struggled to accept its is less important than it once was.

Molotov cocktails and barricades have returned to Northern Ireland. The conflict there is 4 centuries old. But Brexit is the new reason why the situation has reached the boiling point in what had been an era of peace.

Brexit gets biblical: Donald Tusk's special place in hell for Brexiteers who had no plan, Theresa May on pilgrimages to Belfast, Brussels and then Dublin to break bread with Leo Varadkar. / Also Brexit Republic Guest: FoodDrink Europe's DG Mella Frewen on the impact of 'no deal' on the food and drink sector.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May stepped down as Tory leader. The Brexit Party came up short in the Peterborough by-election. US President Donald Trump visited three countries. RTÉ Europe Editor Tony Connelly, London Correspondent Fiona Mitchell and Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin look at a busy (but surprisingly calm) week.

Boris Johnson stands accused of lying to the Queen amid calls for him to go. John Bercow, one of the most colourful protagonists of the Brexit drama, is to quit as Speaker of the House of Commons.

As UK Theresa May headed to EU Summit in Salzburg this week, the expectation was that her Brexit Chequers White Paper would be met with a muted, but not hostile response, relieving her of some pressure before her party's conference later this month. Europe Editor Tony Connelly talks to Brexit Republic from Salzburg and we'll hear from An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and UK Prime Minister Theresa May.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said that the Cabinet’s Brexit subcommittee met on Monday to “essentially dust down and restart contingency preparations” in case a trade war develops with the UK.

Sinn Fein was once disparaged as the political wing of the IRA. It’s now on course to be the biggest party in both the north and south of the island.

Sources from both sides confirm that no further negotiations are scheduled.

On 7 October last year, there was a defining phone call between Boris Johnson and Angel Merkel.

WALES and Ireland should strive for greater ties at a crucial juncture in the countries’ shared history, the Senedd heard. / Delyth Jewell led a debate on a report following an inquiry into Wales-Ireland relations.

There is no question that the fates of Boris Johnson and Brexit are inextricably linked. It is impossible to imagine that the UK would have abandoned its 40-year relationship with the EU had it not been for this young journalist making his name through inventing nonsense stories about the Eurocracy ...

Increased traffic after Christmas break will test border control systems, says Varadkar.

Ex-adviser to PM says flawed Brexit deal was way to ‘whack Corbyn’ and ‘of course’ government can break it.

European council president also says remain movement has no effective leadership.

Taoiseach’s talks with Johnson in Liverpool defined as focusing on Brexit deal ‘process’.

Simon Coveney reportedly clashed with Jeremy Hunt over UK’s alleged attempts to isolate Ireland.

Ireland’s Leo Varadkar says PM’s pledge of no hard border contradicts written proposal.

Sources say PM’s insistence on Ireland customs border means there is no basis for discussions

Boris Johnson announces plans to take personal charge of his own "task-force Europe" as Leo Varadkar talks up Brussels' team.

Jean-Claude Juncker was speaking in Brussels after a meeting with the 27 presidents and prime ministers of the remaining EU countries.

EU leaders have “lost patience” with Britain and do not want to grant another Brexit extension when time runs out in October, Ireland’s prime minister has said.

Talks aimed at avoiding a trade war take place in ‘gloomy atmosphere’.

Anyone believing the EU's solidarity with Ireland may diminish is in for a "nasty surprise", the taoiseach (Irish prime minister) has said.

“It is an opportunity to set our sights on the future of our partnership and to focus on what brings us together", the invite notes.

Irish PM and head of European parliament give their support to three-month extension.

Roberta Metsola told the Irish parliament that the EU can learn lessons from how Ireland has dealt with the challenges of Brexit.

He was booed in Scotland. In Wales, a chicken submitted to his embrace, but politicians held him at arm’s length. And in Northern Ireland, there were rumblings of Irish unity — which could only come at the expense of its ties to the rest of the United Kingdom.

Between Rockall and a hard plaice: Fishing rights are at the centre of a post-Brexit fight for maritime territory.

Brazil’s handling of forest fires set to top agenda of G7 countries at meeting in Biarritz this weekend

The government is strongly considering delaying checks on imports from the European Union again amid warnings of severe disruption to supplies in the run-up to Christmas.

This is not just a tale of selfless cross-party unity in the face of a national crisis – it is also a strategic choice on the part of the country's two biggest parties.

Celtic Interconnector will stretch 500km from Ireland south coast to Brittany. / A new 500km electricity cable will be built to bypass Britain and connect Ireland directly to the European Union's energy markets after Brexit, under plans confirmed on Tuesday.

Britain's decision to make unilateral changes to Northern Irish Brexit arrangements is "not the appropriate behaviour of a respectable country" and will erode trust with the European Union, senior Irish ministers said on Thursday.

Irish deputy PM says UK triggering article 16 would precipitate collapse in relations with EU.

Irish government says there is no prospect of rethink in Brexit stalemate.

Following a Cabinet meeting at Derrynane in Co Kerry, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced that the Government will hire over 1,000 new customs and veterinary inspectors before 2021 to administer at our ports and airports as Ireland prepares for a possible hard Brexit.

Leo Varadkar has been urged to establish a citizens’ assembly on Irish unity when he returns to the office of Taoiseach next month.

Ireland's deputy PM has warned governments doing trade deals with the UK that it is a nation that "doesn't necessarily keep its word".

Simon Coveney also warns no deal is more likely than ever. / Ireland’s foreign minister has blasted the “inaccurate” discussion of Brexit taking place during the Conservative leadership contest.

Two leaders to meet on Monday after British PM seemed to soften stance on backstop.

Ireland planning as seriously for no deal as for May’s agreement, says Leo Varadkar

Fiach Kelly: The main threat from a crashout is political and constitutional, not economic.

If only our own government were honest enough also to communicate this clear & blunt reality to the UK public.

Leo Varadkar warns that Brexit, aid cuts and talk of abandoning human rights treaty ‘not the Britain I know’.

Boris Johnson agreed in the final hours of the Northern Ireland Protocol negotiations that there would be customs declarations on goods exiting Northern Ireland to Britain, despite the fact that just three weeks later he told businesses in the North there would be "no forms, no checks, no barriers of any kind…," according to a detailed new account of the protocol negotiations.

Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s deputy prime minister, has accused the British government of risking the break-up of the United Kingdom and making “shocking” blunders over Northern Ireland.

EU gives go-ahead to weekend meetings after PM appears to backtrack on customs stance.

Taoiseach says Corbyn’s renegotiation plan would not be a problem.

eaders admit there will be no breakthrough in talks in Dublin today.

Irish prime minister says he will study the plans further and consult with other EU leaders.

Irish PM says preparations for checks at ports and airports are being ramped up.

LEO Varadkar has said some MPs' belief that they can get a better Brexit deal is a "terrible political miscalculation".

Mr Varadkar said the current deal, negotiated by Theresa May's government, was arrived at because of the British negotiating position.

‘President Biden has said all the right things from our point of view in the past couple of years,’ the Irish premier said.

It is a "terrible political miscalculation" for UK politicians to believe they can get a better Brexit deal, the Irish PM has said.

TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has told the the British government has got it wrong in its legal battle with a CO Derry woman over in her citizenship.

Two-thirds of people say a border poll should be held at some point in the wake of Brexit.

A leading group of MEPs responsible for UK-EU negotiations have "grave concerns" about Boris Johnson's new Brexit proposals.

EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier will visit Dublin on Monday for talks with Leo Varadkar. It is seen as a sign of solidarity for the Irish government ahead of an emergency EU summit in Brussels...

Ireland’s deputy prime minister Leo Varadkar said the Irish will "absolutely be making their views known" on the matter.

Leo Varadkar says UK and EU will still have to negotiate, with same problems on agenda.

Leo Varadkar says UK 'won't have any trade deals with anyone', citing WTO rules and Good Friday commitments.

The Government has been accused of trying to play the “blame game” over a no-deal Brexit, as Michael Gove claimed that the EU was refusing to negotiate with Britain.

Cold Feet star Jimmy Nesbitt will deliver the keynote address at the Ireland’s Future event in Dublin.

QUEEN Elizabeth helped Boris Johnson manoeuvre towards a Brexit deal back in 2019, a new book has claimed.

The statements came today after reports suggested that Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered his Brexit team to find ways to "get around" the Northern Ireland protocol.

Irish premier says it is 'alarming' that Tory leadership contenders want to remove safeguard against hard border.

Package worth €100m agreed for Irish beef farmers ‘hammered’ by Brexit uncertainty.

As Brexit looms, nationalists in Northern Ireland are increasingly looking to Dublin for representation. Now, as Ben Kelly explains, political parties are responding in new, innovative ways.

The increasingly shrill nature of the rhetoric around Brexit is a worrying development that has the potential to do as much damage to Irish-British relations in the longer term as the practical consequences of the process itself.

Ireland’s prime minister has turned the tables on Theresa May in Brexit talks, warning that she should in fact be making concessions to the EU if she wants changes to the agreement.

The UK worries about being “trapped” in a backstop – but can’t present an alternative. / Toxic language is defining the Brexit debate. It is turning an intensely complex and complicated subject into something being argued over emotionally, certainly in the UK.

Irish troops could return to the border in the event of a botched Brexit, the Irish prime minister has warned.

European Council President Donald Tusk has said that a letter sent to him by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson included no "realistic alternatives" to the backstop.

The UK government has not been "even handed" when it comes to resolving the row over the Northern Ireland Protocol, Leo Varadkar has said. /

The Taoiseach was responding to comments earlier in the week from NI Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris. / Irish premier Leo Varadkar has said the UK would be required to engage with the European Union to resolve any issues about proposed new EU laws being introduced in Northern Ireland.

The UK government’s plan to walk away from parts of the Northern Ireland Brexit deal is destroying the repaired relationship with the EU, political leaders and diplomats have said.

Leo Varadkar says government must submit plans in writing before EU summit in October.

United bloc will continue to protect its interests, say Michel Barnier and Leo Varadkar

Ireland’s deputy premier Leo Varadkar said the Irish economy was decoupled from the UK’s a long time ago.

The impact of the UK’s departure from the EU and the continuing tensions over the Northern Ireland protocol have reinforced the concept of a united Ireland for many.

Several members of the US Congress have sent a letter to the British Prime Minister Theresa May warning about the potential consequences of the return of a hard border on the island of Ireland.

Leo Varadkar has urged the British government to tone down “nationalist rhetoric” over Brexit, and branded Dominic Raab’s memo to UK diplomats to sit separately from their EU counterparts as “petty”.

Britain will not secure a free trade deal with the EU without the Irish border backstop, the taoiseach has said.

Taoiseach wants to keep a guarantee there will be no return to hard borders. / Leo Varadkar has said that removing the border backstop would be as bad for Ireland as a no-deal Brexit.

Academics hold up Brexit as an example of the dangers of voting on an abstract concept.

The fifth plenary session of the All-Island Civic Dialogue on Brexit is taking place at Dublin Castle. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney will be among the speakers.

The absolutely enormous cargo ship that was christened by Leo Varadkar and other luminaries in Dublin Port on Friday morning is officially to be called Celine but over the course of a long and lavish ceremony marking its birth it was more commonly referred to by its shiny new nickname, Brexit Buster.

Inside the deal struck at the Wirral, England, on October 10th, 2019, by Leo Varadkar and Boris Johnson.

Taoiseach receives mix of praise, promises of votes and abuse over Government’s stance.

Brexit is like “political climate change” and will go on “forever”, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has told the Fine Gael parliamentary party.

May’s last-gasp dash to Strasbourg, the midnight press conference with Juncker... EU officials and politicians looked on with growing incredulity.

Northern Ireland’s economic performance shows the post-Brexit agreement has been ‘a success’, Ireland’s deputy PM has said.

Dublin will not give up on the Northern Ireland backstop clause in Britain’s EU Withdrawal Agreement, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has warned.