TANASITE LEO VARADKAR has stressed that the UK must honour it's commitment to Brexit amid rumours they're looking to dismantle some of the provisions of the withdrawal agreement.
The former Taoiseach said that "no domestic law can trump an international treaty," before adding that Ireland expects "any honourable country like the United Kingdom to honour its international commitments".
It comes less than 24 hours after news broke that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was allegedly planning to circumvent the UK’s Brexit withdrawal agreement on Northern Irish border checks.
The UK is reportedly readying a new section of the internal market bill, which has been designed to deliberately override parts of the withdrawal agreement signed with the EU back in January.
The bill is set to impact some of the legally binding special arrangements in place for Northern Ireland.
Specifically, it will undermine parts of the Withdrawal Agreement and give greater priority to seamless trade between England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Varadkar added: "That agreement is in place to make sure that we don't see the emergence of a hard border between North and South, which is something we all want to avoid."
He admitted that the EU and the UK were entering the last few weeks of negotiations and insisted that all parties were "keen to see a trade agreement in place before the end of the year."
"At this point in negotiations you often see a certain level of sabre-rattling and a certain level of posturing, if you like. So, our response to this is going to be measured," Varadkar said.
"We have the Withdrawal Agreement. It is an international treaty and international treaties must be honoured.
"We expect any honourable country like the United Kingdom to honour its international commitments."
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Micheal Martin insists that there's no danger of a hard border being adopted in Ireland, despite the growing possibility of a no-deal Brexit.
"I trust the British government to implement the Withdrawal Agreement, an obligation under international law and prerequisite for any future partnership," Martin said.
"[The] protocol on Ireland-Northern Ireland is essential to protect peace and stability on the island and integrity of the single market."
