In a stark warning, the most senior official in the Department of Foreign Affairs has said the avoidance of a hard border after Brexit is not now guaranteed. Niall Burgess, secretary general of the Department of Foreign Affairs, has said the only way to ensure we do not go back to a border on the island of Ireland is through the agreed protocol, which is now "not guaranteed". You can't replace the land-bridge," Mr Burgess said, but he added that officials are working to make sure it is still viable for Irish exporters after Brexit, "no matter how hard the Brexit is". Asked about the potential threat of a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and the North if Britain crashes out, Mr Burgess said: "The implementation of the protocol is the alternative to a hard border — that's why the protocol is there. When it was suggested that the protocol is now not guaranteed after Boris Johnson's government published the controversial Internal Market Bill, which would break international law and renege on parts of the Withdrawal Agreement, Mr Burgess said: "No, it's not guaranteed.

Source: Irish Examiner September 19, 2020 06:00 UTC