“I had the opportunity to speak with the Secretary of State this morning, but we will take time to scrutinise in detail what has been agreed. We will make our judgement solely through the through the prism of how it impacts Northern Ireland and our place within the United Kingdom.
We believe the Government should be radical in moving on from the Windsor Framework and not tinkering around the edges of it.
An SPS agreement may help ease the flow of trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, but it will not be a silver bullet to the host of problems created by the application of EU law specifically in Northern Ireland only. We will assess what progress has been made, but we will also assess whether architecture remains in place that put Northern Ireland in a different position to the rest of the United Kingdom. We will continue our work to see such architecture removed.
This agreement will not resolve issues around customs and other barriers to trade, not least in relation to product standards. We will continue to make the case for full restoration of Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom, including removing the application of EU law in our country and the internal Irish Sea border it creates.”
Mr Robinson met the Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris this morning accompanied by Deputy Leader Michelle McIlveen and Deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly to discuss issues relating to legacy.
Commenting on the meeting he said,
“We had a constructive exchange with Simon Harris this morning on the important issue of legacy. While we welcome ongoing engagement, we remain disappointed by the Irish Government’s longstanding approach.
For decades, there has been a failure by the Irish Republic to step up to support the quest for truth and justice. No credible investigative mechanism, repeated obstruction of extraditions, and a reluctance to support victims’ pursuit of justice. That has left many families in Northern Ireland, and indeed in their own jurisdiction, feeling ignored.
The recent Memorandum of Understanding on Omagh falls well short of what is needed. Given the scale of that atrocity, there is a clear need to understand what the Irish Government knew, and what more could have been done to prevent it. The Omagh families deserve answers.
We made clear to Minister Harris that more must be done.”