Taoiseach Leo Varadkar just congratulated Boris Johnson on his victory. Here are his key remarks:
This was "an enormous victory on a personal level" and a "very clear result" for the Conservative party.
This was "an enormous victory on a personal level" and a "very clear result" for the Conservative party.
2/ "We had for a few years a parliament that wasn't able to form a majority around anything. We now clearly have a majority in the House of Commons to ratify the withdrawal agreement, so the next step is to ratify the withdrawal agreement"
3/ The Taoiseach said the next phase of Brexit will be "negotiating a mighty new future economic partnership between the EU and the UK", adding he thinks it "can be done".
4/ On Level Playing Field: “I’d like to ensure we still have tariff free and quota free trade between Britain and the EU, that there’s a set of minimum standards so nobody feels there’s unfair competition...
5/ "or that anyone is trying to undercut them when it comes to labour rights, environmental protections”
He said in his conversations with Boris Johnson he felt "he’s probably in a similar space"
He said in his conversations with Boris Johnson he felt "he’s probably in a similar space"
6/ Varadkar described the results in Northern Ireland as "tectonic".
"If you know about plate tectonics you know that things move slowly then things move suddenly. Slowly because of demographics and more suddenly because of the reaction of people in Northern Ireland to Brexit.”
"If you know about plate tectonics you know that things move slowly then things move suddenly. Slowly because of demographics and more suddenly because of the reaction of people in Northern Ireland to Brexit.”
7/ The Taoiseach said there was no longer a unionist or nationalist majority in the North, adding that the centre ground was expanding, a trend he said had been confirmed in elections to the Assembly and European Parliament.
8/ Asked by the BBC if a United Ireland was more likely now Varadkar said: “People shouldn’t race ahead of themselves with other plans.
9/ “What hasn’t changed is that the future for us in Ireland is reconciliation, it’s power sharing, it’s closer cooperation between North and South and also between Britain and Ireland, and that’s the philosophy underpinning the Good Friday Agreement."
10/ He said all sides should strive to restore the Assembly and Executive by the deadline of January 13.
“We’ll be giving this everything between now and January to get the Assembly and Executive up and running.
“We’ll be giving this everything between now and January to get the Assembly and Executive up and running.
11/ “If at that point there is no power sharing restored in Northern Ireland we’re then looking into another Assembly election in Northern Ireland, and I can’t imagine who would really want that.”
