Since technology solutions to the Irish border are being discussed again it is worth reminding ourselves that fancy systems are never a solution in themselves, you need processes, supervision, follow-on mechanisms etc to make them work
The importance of a border, as I was told, is "It's the only time you get the transport, declaration, supporting documents and goods together at the same time" - and a reminder that all systems stand or fall by how they deal with the exceptions
Laws / legal redress as I'm reminded by @Cardwell_PJ - the EU structure provides this, outside of this EEA could provide an alternative, but otherwise you're going to need to build this from scratch
There is great and impartial work on the subject by the likes of @hayward_katy (theconversation.com/can-technology…) and @instituteforgov (instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/…). Nothing is insoluble, but it is an incredibly difficult challenge and pretending it isn't does us no favours
That all being said, I would still favour the UK-EU political declaration stating that both sides will work together to produce potential solutions - perhaps to report back in a year - but commitments beyond this will be difficult /end
