Deal on Northern Ireland Protocol drawing close - with red and green lanes supposedly at the heart of it

Tony Connelly, a senior RTE reporter, filed a story on the subject this morning, based in large measure on a conversation with “a senior EU official”.

His report quotes the official as saying: “We have acknowledged the unintended consequences of the protocol and we know the most important thing is that we have a solution that works for Northern Ireland...

"We share the philosophy that we should treat goods differently if they are staying in Northern Ireland compared to those which are going to the single market. There are more safeguards in place, that means more flexibility.

"The IT system is up and running… We have made recommendations and the UK has been constructive in meeting them. IT safeguards are in place.

"There are different options to make an express lane more green and the red lane will follow with appropriate safeguards."

On the role of the European Court of Justice in deciding on single market issues in Northern Ireland, the senior official said it remained "a difficult issue for us. At the end of the day, the ultimate arbiter for European single market law is the ECJ".

The official would reportedly not be drawn on whether goods entitled to use the green lane would be exempt from all customs declarations, including the need for traders to pre-fill so-called commodity codes electronically in advance, and SPS formalities.

Reaching agreement is "doable" the official was quoted as saying “the contours of the final agreement are difficult to say. The terrain we know very well. We want joint solutions, we're talking about everything”.

The news is similar to a story reported last Wednesday in The Times:

• ​Nigel Dodds says 'tinkering with Protocol checks won’t do' as DUP stresses 'seven tests' checklist