Dublin ‘entirely deaf’ to unionist concerns, says DUP MP Gavin Robinson

East Belfast DUP MP Gavin Robinson has accused Taoiseach Micheal Martin and the EU of being “entirely deaf” to unionism and unionist concerns over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
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Mr Robinson said Mr Martin and his EU allies appeared oblivious to the fact that progress in Northern Ireland requires both unionists and nationalists moving forward together.

He continued: “Figures such as Tony Blair have identified that political will and consensus are the way to secure progress yet unfortunately this is simply dismissed.

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“We understand that Micheal Martin feels a duty to defend the EU position but it is leadership that is required rather than simply doubling down on a position which has demonstrably failed.”

DUP MP Gavin RobinsonDUP MP Gavin Robinson
DUP MP Gavin Robinson

The TUV has described the taoiseach’s attempt to link Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine to British moves to override the protocol as “laughable” given the Republic’s military neutrality.

Mr Martin alluded to the Russian invasion when he told European parliamentarians that they only had to look across the continent to see what a breach of international law could lead to.

TUV councillor Stephen Cooper accused the Irish premier of “a cynical attempt to utilise the horror of Russian aggression in Ukraine to even mitigate the damaged caused by the protocol.”

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He said: “Mr Martin’s attempt to suggest that the UK shouldn’t act on the protocol because of the situation in Ukraine is laughable given that he heads a government which has failed to supply any military assistance in the fight against Russian aggression.

“His argument presupposes that there is an inherent incompatibility between changing the protocol and recognition of the need for unity on the part of the international community to confront Putin.”

Mr Cooper continued: “The simple fact of the matter is that no such incompatibility exists.

“Opposition to the protocol is entirely compatible with support for the Ukrainians in their heroic struggle to retain the sovereignty of their country against Russian aggression – in fact, opposition to the protocol is itself crucially about the issue of sovereignty of the United Kingdom.”