Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he is “quietly confident” that there will be an agreement on reform of the Northern Ireland Protocol soon.

Yesterday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak flew to Belfast to brief local politicians on the outline of what has been agreed with Brussels and the details are expected to soon emerge. 

“I do believe the prospect is there of an agreement - possibly within a week,” An Taoiseach said. 

“It’s not finalised; we haven’t all seen the final text yet but we are getting there. 

“I’m quietly confident that within the next week or two we could be in a position to sign off on an agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom.” 

Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald said “very positive work” seemed to have been done and called for the restoration of power sharing. 

“We want this to land positively,” she said. 

“Then we want Government here, we want work done, we want people to know that when they come out and elect people that those elected people crack on and do the job for them.”

Loyalists take part in an anti-Northern Ireland Protocol rally in Portadown, Co Armagh. Picture date: Saturday June 5, 2021.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said there was “no doubt” progress had been made but that he would wait to see the full text before giving a verdict.  

“I have indicated to the Prime Minister that it is important - fundamentally important - that he agrees the right deal,” he said. 

“I want to hear that Brussels will stretch itself to recognise the concerns that we have as unionists and that this process will correct the wrongs of the last negotiations. 

“I do not believe that anyone should be led by a calendar.” 

The DUP has said it will not nominate a Deputy First Minister unless the protocol is reformed to their satisfaction.

Main image: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. Image: Leah Farrell / RollingNews