Brexit at risk of getting bogged down in the muddy field that is the 310-mile border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic
THE future of Brexit is at risk of getting bogged down in the muddy field that is the 310-mile border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.
Prime Minister Theresa May believed she had finally kick-started the official divorce negotiations this week when she agreed to a reported £50billion deal to allow us to discuss trade with the EU.
But the EU’s insistence on erecting a hard border between Northern Ireland and its southern neighbour has caused fury and is now the main sticking point threatening to derail the talks.
Northern Irish craftsman Jason Taylor is one of many who feel outrage at the EU’s latest meddling in their affairs.
The 25-year-old, who lives with wife Danielle and daughter Isabella in the Brexit-supporting town of Banbridge, Co Down, said: “Why can’t the EU let us keep things the way they are?
“For me, this is another example of them playing politics and trying to milk us for every penny they can get.
“It’s a dangerous game they are playing that is already dividing people here.
“My wife’s mother voted Remain and her husband Mark is worried that a new border will put his job at risk, as his company is based in the south.
“I voted for Brexit, so it can make for some difficult conversations around the table when we meet for Sunday lunch.”
At present, you can drive across the snake-like dividing line between north and south without seeing a single check-point or customs official.
And almost everyone in Irish politics agrees that the two countries should continue to trade freely after Britain leaves the European Union.
But the EU wants either a barrier between the two countries, or to keep Northern Ireland in the single market and customs union. This would push the border back to the Irish Sea and cut off the entire island from mainland UK.
Jason said: “I’m British and I voted Leave, so why would I want to separate from the UK and stay with the EU?
“It’s crazy. I don’t think putting up a border between us and the Republic of Ireland is a good idea either.”
Banbridge business owner and Democratic Unionist councillor Mark Baxter, 38, believes Eurocrats are floating the controversial “all-Ireland solution” — keeping the north under their umbrella — so they can divide and conquer, and bleed the UK dry.
He said: “I think this is all about money and we have become a bargaining chip in the exit negotiations.
“It’s like one of those messy divorces where the bitter ex-wife or husband uses the kids to try to extract more money from their partner.
“The Irish question is really not that complicated — no one here wants to put up a border. The EU is trying to turn it into this big thing so they can put pressure on the British government.”
British cattle farmer Noel McKevitt, 64, lives so close to the border, on the northern side, that he can see the Republic of Ireland from his garden.
He remembers how bad the Troubles were when Unionists were pitted against Nationalists, and IRA terrorists — determined to kick the British out — fought bloody battles with militant unionists.
He said: “I think the EU is trying to punish us for leaving. If there is a hard border, there will be people who will try to destroy that border and that will mean the Army will have to come back here to defend it.
“That will mean more tanks and helicopters and bombs, just like we had during the Troubles.”
The 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which created the Northern Ireland Executive, put an end to the violence and allowed Sinn Fein — the IRA’s political wing — to work alongside the Ulster Unionists who they had once seen as bitter enemies. But there are fears that all this work could be undone.
On Friday European Council President Donald Tusk met Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in Dublin as Brussels gave Ireland an official veto on the Brexit talks, with an ultimatum to Theresa May to solve the Irish question by tomorrow.
Otherwise, said Mr Tusk, trade negotiations would come to a slamming halt.
A day earlier, another spanner was thrown in the works when Mrs May’s DUP allies — who helped her form her government in June — said they could renege on their deal if she keeps Northern Ireland in the single market.
It came after the Republic demanded written promises from the PM that there will be no “divergence” from EU red tape “as to require a hard border”.
Taxi driver Michael Ward, 62, is one of many people worried by these threats.
He said: “I was in favour of Brexit before the vote but to be honest I would vote Remain now if I had the chance. I don’t like where all this is leading.”
MOST READ IN UK NEWS
In the border town of Newry, Northern Ireland, there are fears that the Brexit talks could make or break their future.
Declan McChesney, 60, runs Cahill Brothers shoe shop in Newry and said: “A hard border would be a total disaster for this town as the customs posts will become a target for dissidents.
“I remember the Troubles and I never want to live through that again.”