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Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin said the EU is sensitive to concerns unionists in Northern Ireland have about the Brexit protocol.

Speaking in Belfast after meetings with the five main parties, Mr Martin said the discussions were useful to pick up on issues.

“I think Europe is very aware and sensitive of the points of view and concerns that the unionist community have put forward in respect of the protocol issue, and having that seamless trade within the UK single market,” he said.

“These are issues that have been advanced strongly by the unionist parties, both the DUP and the UUP, and other parties are clear that if issues of that nature can be resolved, they’re happy enough to see them resolved.

“I do genuinely believe that the European Union is very anxious to deal with those concerns that unionism has.”

Mr Martin also said the people of Northern Ireland deserve government.

“In a democracy, when people elect their public representatives they expect them to take their seats both in the Assembly and in government,” he said.

“The context is there in terms of the negotiations and discussions that are under way between the United Kingdom Government and the European Union team.

“I made the point to the parties this morning there is a significant degree of confidentiality surrounding those negotiations and discussions, and I am in agreement with the need to provide space to both the negotiating teams to see if they can bring about a resolution of the issues around trade.

“I reiterated our very strong view that the constitutional position of Northern Ireland is not impacted, and has to be underpinned in terms of the principle of consent, and that is something we strongly assert, that there can be no undermining of the constitutional status of Northern Ireland as per the Good Friday Agreement and the principle of consent.

“We believe the issues can be resolved but that is a matter in the first instance for the EU negotiating team and the United Kingdom.

“There are a lot of challenges, I would not understate the difficulties that both sides will face in trying to resolve the issues, but I think the sensible thing to do is allow the EU and the UK to continue with the negotiations.

“Meanwhile the parties here will have to focus on the imperative of getting the Executive and the Assembly restored.”

Negotiations are ‘in the tunnel’

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood has said the secrecy around the EU-UK talks on the Northern Ireland Protocol was “probably a good thing”.

He called on DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson not to be “spooked by anybody within loyalism” and to return to Stormont if there is “significant” enough change to the protocol.

“The discussions are being kept very tight, at a very senior level in the British government on the European Commission, and that’s probably a good thing,” he told reporters in Belfast.

“They’re in the tunnel,” Mr Eastwood said, referring to the intense, tail-end stage that negotiations can enter.

“It’s very tight and they’re keeping it very tight. There’s obviously a lot of issues to talk about.

“We have said to the British government – I’ve said this directly to the Prime Minister – is this needs to be done very quickly. We cannot wait until the Good Friday Agreement anniversary, or whatever. This needs to be done as quickly as possible.

“I think everybody understands the issues. It’s important now that we get on with it.

“That’s only half the battle, we still need to have a government in Stormont and that’s up to the DUP.

“So, I would encourage Jeffrey Donaldson not to be spooked by anybody within loyalism, but to lead to take his chance to lead the DUP back into government and to lead us back into a situation where we share this place and begin working on a common interest.

“Let’s be honest, not everybody gets everything they want in a negotiation. But if there is significant movement, I think the DUP should be prepared to take yes for an answer. But that will be up to them.

“It takes political bravery sometimes in this place, to reach out and to step forward, and that’s up to Jeffrey.”

Stormont ‘needs reform’

Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw said her party emphasised to Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin an urgent need to reform the Stormont institutions after the latest period of collapse.

“He said that he is in support of reform but I don’t think that he has the same timescale as we would in that we should allow the negotiations with the EU to complete, get the institutions back up and then talk about how we reform the institutions,” she said.

“However, our concern is that we have been here four times before, various periods of suspension, so we have to do something different. Twenty-five years on from the Good Friday Agreement, I think it’s time that we do look at how we factor in changes.”

She said Mr Martin appeared pleased “he was not hearing whispers” from within the talks between the UK and EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

“He thinks these talks now are in far better shape than previous ones where there isn’t all this information leaking out, that it bodes well for a sustainable solution coming forward,” she said.

Northern Ireland Protocol: EU very anxious to deal with unionist concerns, says Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin