Varadkar on transition extension idea: "Any extension to the transition period couldn't be a substitute for the backstop. We would still need to have that, but perhaps it would allow people to have greater confidence that it would ever need to be invoked.
"As the EU and UK agreed in writing back in March [the backstop] must apply unless and until... It can be temporary by all means but it can't have an expiry date. It can only be temporary unless and until we have an alternative agreement that also ensures... no hard border"
"That's what we agreed in writing, the EU and the UK back in March. So this is not just now an issue of substance, it's also an issue of trust."
