{"id":26539,"date":"2022-06-14T10:24:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-14T14:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=26539"},"modified":"2022-06-15T10:27:20","modified_gmt":"2022-06-15T14:27:20","slug":"donaldson-tells-irish-government-to-get-real-on-protocol-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=26539","title":{"rendered":"Donaldson Tells Irish Government To ‘Get Real’ On Protocol Problems"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The protocol arrangements require regulatory checks and customs declarations on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland (PA)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Irish Government needs to \u201cget real\u201d about the problems being caused by the Northern Ireland Protocol, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simon Coveney has been fiercely critical of the UK government\u2019s plans to override parts of the international deal which was struck over Northern Ireland\u2019s post-Brexit trading arrangements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Coveney warned the move could \u201cdestabilize\u201d the situation in Northern Ireland and was undermining the work that led to the Brexit agreement with the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Mr Donaldson responded: \u201cSimon Coveney fails to recognize the extent of the problems that the protocol is causing for Northern Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He told the BBC: \u201cIt is not just about trade, it is not just about the difficulties it is creating for business, it is not just about the impact this is having on the cost of living for every consumer in Northern Ireland, it is also about our political institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is about stability. Not a single unionist MLA elected to the Assembly last month supports the protocol and without that cross-community consensus the political institutions cannot operate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the Irish Government need to get real, they need to understand the extent of the problem here and stop deluding themselves that it is some kind of minor issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs for negotiations, Simon Coveney talks about sitting around the table \u2013 the problem is we\u2019ve had two years of negotiation and no progress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The protocol arrangements require regulatory checks and customs declarations on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unionists in Northern Ireland are vociferously opposed to the international treaty, claiming it has undermined the region\u2019s place within the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DUP has blocked the formation of a new power-sharing government at Stormont following last month\u2019s Assembly election in protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Donaldson said the UK government was entitled to take unilateral action over the arrangements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: \u201cWhat we need is a permanent solution here, and that is why I think it is important that the Government is bringing forward this legislation, and I think what the Government has proposed is balanced, it is fair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt enables us to see Northern Ireland\u2019s place within the UK\u2019s internal market restored in line with the commitment the Government gave in New Decade, New Approach over two-and-a-half years ago now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s Stormont leader Michelle O\u2019Neill said the UK government\u2019s actions were a \u201cstraight up, slam dunk breach of an international agreement\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She told RT\u00c9: \u201cIt undermines the Good Friday Agreement, and their actions will have huge economic consequences because the reality is, and everybody bar the DUP and bar Boris Johnson knows, that the protocol is working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s given us an economic advantage. Our economy is outperforming that of Britain and that\u2019s I think what they want to hide in this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBoris Johnson\u2019s action yesterday is just completely reckless, and serves to create more instability and serves to create more uncertainty for businesses for planning for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms O\u2019Neill added: \u201cFrom the very outset of the Brexit debate, we said that the Good Friday Agreement and Brexit were incompatible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t consent to Brexit, but it\u2019s still being foisted upon us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe sought to find some mitigation in the form of the protocol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt protects the all-island economy which is flourishing as a direct result of the protocol.\u201d<\/p>\n

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