Leo Varadkar says EU moved ‘a lot’ to facilitate Windsor Framework

​Mr Varadkar stayed quiet on what would happen if the DUP were to reject the Windsor Framework, saying the party should be given time to study the text of what had been agreed.

He said the free flow of goods and people on the island of Ireland had been maintained and the EU’s single market had been protected as part of the revised protocol.

“What is different is that there will be no restrictions on trade when it comes to goods moving from Britain into Northern Ireland, or goods moving from Northern Ireland to Britain,” he said.

“It’s a uniquely positive arrangement for Northern Ireland businesses in particular, that trade can flow freely back and forth from Britain to Northern Ireland, without any need for any checks or complications, provided those goods stay in Northern Ireland.”

Although he did not comment on whether further negotiations were possible, he said the deal was “hard-won, took a huge amount of work on both sides to get to this point and, as always is the case, is something that’s very, very hard to reopen”.

Meanwhile, Ireland’s deputy leader said the EU-UK deal represented a “genuine” attempt to address key unionist concerns.

Foreign affairs minister Micheal Martin said the new EU-UK deal ensures that Northern Ireland “benefits by having unique access to both the EU single market and the UK’s internal market”.

“I heard first-hand the concerns of many unionists,” he said in a statement after the Windsor Framework deal.

“I believe they will see in this a genuine response to their genuine concerns.”

Mr Varadkar echoed these comments, saying: “The European Union has moved a lot, moved a lot to facilitate a new agreement for Britain.

“Brexit was a concept on paper before it happened, but the same was the case for the protocol.

“Understanding how Brexit and the protocol affected trade movements in reality allowed us to understand better what aspects of it maybe weren’t necessary, and we were able to take some of those away.”