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The T\u00e1naiste has said the draft Brexit withdrawal agreement is not open for renegotiation.<\/p>\nThe T\u00e1naiste has said the draft Brexit withdrawal agreement is not open for renegotiation.<\/p>\n
Simon Coveney said it should no longer be considered a draft and that instead it should be seen as the only agreement.<\/p>\n
Mr Coveney told the D\u00e1il that it was \u201cnot going to be re-opened\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a text that has been agreed between the negotiations teams, it has been agreed by the British government. So to that extent, it is not a draft text, it now the text, and it is not going to be reopened,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Coveney said the text should not be changed at this stage because it had taken two years to put together.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s sensitive, it\u2019s difficult. It\u2019s a compromise on both sides, by the UK and the EU, trying to accommodate each other\u2019s concerns. It\u2019s a balanced text that I believe is good for the United Kingdom as a whole and protects against core Irish concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Coveney added that the only document that would be changing was the political declaration around the future relationship.<\/p>\n
It is expected to be a 20-page document when the wording is finalized in the coming days.<\/p>\n
Theresa May is scheduled to travel to Brussels on Wednesday to meet European Commission president Jean-Claude Junker ahead of a special EU Brexit summit on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Mr Coveney said he expected the final wording of the declaration on the future relationship would be one of the topics discussed in the meeting.<\/p>\n
The T\u00e1naiste warned parliamentarians that there was still a long process ahead.<\/p>\n
He said even if the withdrawal agreement was supported by EU leaders on Sunday and subsequently supported in the House of Commons, negotiators still had the future relationship to negotiate and it could take at least two or three years to complete.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a process where Ireland will continue to have to be vigilant to mitigate against unintended consequences of the fallout of Brexit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Coveney told the D\u00e1il he believed that a lot of people had been \u201cfar too quick\u201d to jump to conclusions and assume the worst that the agreement will not be passed in the UK parliament.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should spend the next few weeks explaining to people and reassuring people as to what is in the deal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a good deal in Ireland and it is a good deal for the UK and it\u2019s a good deal for the EU.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cInstead of focusing on contingency after a failed vote in the House of Commons, I think we should be talking about how we talk this up to maximize the chances of it getting support in the House of Commons, which is what the Prime Minister is doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Coveney was responding to questions from Fianna F\u00e1il\u2019s Brexit spokeswoman Lisa Chambers.<\/p>\n
She said the Government had accused the party in the past of playing politics with Brexit, but she said they had put on the \u201cgreen jersey\u201d and been advocating for the least damaging outcome possible for the island of Ireland.<\/p>\n