Concern at border between the isles

You could not have a soft border (after Brexit, should it take place) between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland without also having a soft border down the Irish Sea between the Republic of Ireland and the coasts of England and Wales.

By The Newsroom

Published 27th Jun 2018, 11:06 BST

Updated 16th Jul 2018, 16:48 BST

It is securing a soft border down the Irish Sea that concerns Dublin. The Northern Ireland border is a means to that end.

By focusing attention on Northern Ireland Dublin diverts attention from its real concern – a hard border running through these Britannic isles, not simply Northern Ireland and that part of Ireland that is a Republic; and all the consequences that would follow on such a border if it should come about.

What Dublin is now concerned about is what was once an Irish unionist concern.

It is that concern and all its ramifications that Arlene Foster should have focused on in her recent address to the Policy Exchange Conference on the Union.

It is that concern that unionists should be reclaiming and engage with Leo Varadkar.

WA Miller, Belfast BT13