A protest by the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) is taking place at the European Commission offices in Dublin over the “double standards of the commission” in their reckless pursuit of a sell-out trade deal” with the Mercosur trade bloc.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Germany will stand with Ireland every step of the way over Brexit. She was speaking following talks in Dublin with the Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) about the current deadlock.
A report into the impact of Brexit on banking and finance firms says some £900bn in financial firms' assets have been moved out of the UK. It adds this has cost £3bn-4bn and involves 5,000 expected staff moves or local hires, and that figure will rise.
The British Prime Minister Theresa May will visit Dublin on Friday evening for Brexit talks, Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said. Mr Varadkar was speaking after his meeting with Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels this afternoon.
Barclays is moving €190bn (£166bn) of assets to Dublin because it cannot wait any longer to implement its Brexit contingency plan. The High Court, which has approved the move, says the move involves 5,000 clients. However, few jobs in London are expected to be affected.
Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister has said the country will not stand in the way if the British Government asks for an extension to Article 50. Simon Coveney said they want to avoid a no-deal Brexit scenario as “everyone loses”.
Irish premier Leo Varadkar has told Theresa May that he will not accept a Brexit deal which gives the UK the unilateral power to halt “backstop” arrangements for the border with Northern Ireland. In a phone conversation with the Taoiseach, Mrs. May said that any agreement would have to include a mechanism to bring an end to the backstop – designed to ensure there is no hard border in Ireland if the UK and EU fail to reach a broader trade deal.
Ireland is stepping up preparations for physical infrastructure at ports and airports after Brexit, premier Leo Varadkar said. Irish ministers held detailed discussions in Dublin on Tuesday surrounding the hiring of customs officers and veterinary inspectors as well as the upgrading of IT systems.
Apple has paid the Irish government €14.3bn (£12.7bn), money that the European Commission ruled the tech giant owed due to illegal tax breaks. Ireland's Finance ministry said the payment was a significant milestone, although Dublin insists Apple was not given any special tax treatment. In 2016 the Commission ruled the below 1% effective tax rate the firm paid in Ireland amounted to illegal state aid.
Pope Francis has begged forgiveness for members of the Catholic Church's hierarchy who kept quiet about clerical child sex abuse. He was ending a two-day visit to the Republic of Ireland by celebrating a Mass at Dublin's Phoenix Park.