The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said there is still time for a deal to be struck on Brexit and that next Friday would be a "reasonable" deadline for new proposals from the UK.
Mr Varadkar was speaking at the Fine Gael Presidential Dinner in Dublin last night for his third time as party leader.
Earlier this week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued new proposals which would see the replacement of the backstop in Northern Ireland.
The protocol proposed that Northern Ireland would leave the Customs Union but follow EU regulations for at least four years.
However, Mr Varadkar said the plans for the Irish border after Brexit “fall short in a number of ways.”
The Taoiseach said last night that "time is tight" for striking a deal ahead of the European Summit on October 17 and 18.
He said it would not be "reasonable" for other EU leaders to agree on a new deal which they had only seen a couple of days previously.
Mr Varadkar said that he thinks "Friday is a reasonable deadline".
He also believes that a deal is still possible, but not at any cost.
Brussels dealt a blow to Mr Johnson's proposals over the weekend, saying they "do not provide a basis for concluding an agreement".
Budget 2020
Mr Varadkar said last night that the government has a twin-track approach to Brexit and Budget 2020.
This entails trying to get a deal and if that's not possible, to use a prudent Budget to get the country through while protecting peace on our island and our place in the Single Market.
He said that Ireland is on the "right track" as we head towards next week's Budget.
The Fine Gael leader also said he believes his party can win the next General Election.
He said Fine Gael stands for something while Fianna Fáil stands for everything, making promises to everyone, everywhere, without solutions or policies.
Speech by the Leader of Fine Gael, An Taoiseach @LeoVaradkar, at the Fine Gael Presidential Dinner: https://t.co/aGhFgvsNrw
— Fine Gael (@FineGael) October 5, 2019
Meanwhile, he pointed to the Green Party's Tweets about repopulating rural Ireland with wolves.
He said he thought their experience of government with Fianna Fáil would have warned them off dangerous predators, then added that he would sooner back the wolves than let Sinn Féin into government.
The Taoiseach said that by the next General Election, the government would have either secured a Brexit Deal or, if not, would have guided the country through the worst of a No Deal scenario.
