THE collapse of the north's power-sharing is "slightly problematic" as the British government and European Union attempt to resolve the post-Brexit border problem, a cabinet minister has said.
Brexit Secretary David Davis told a House of Lords committee yesterday that the Irish border issue will not be resolved until close to the end of negotiations with the EU.
He said technology and trusted traders' schemes could help maintain a "frictionless border" post-Brexit, but added that although work had begun in these areas there was "nowhere near" a solution.
"We won't actually have a solution to the Northern Ireland issues probably until near the end of the process, because we'll need to know what the free trade agreement will be," he said.
"If it's as we wish, a very comprehensive free trade agreement, that means you can get away with a lighter customs agreement than you normally would in which the primary new piece of information involved would be rules of origin.
"So you can see, some thought's gone into that, too.
"So we are making best speed is all I can say - it's not as fast as perhaps I would like, but we're making best speed."
The Irish and British governments and the north's Executive have insisted no one in Ireland wants a hard border.
But no plans on how to avoid the return of customs posts have yet been agreed.
Power-sharing collapsed in January and Sinn Féin and the DUP remain at loggerheads over issues including an Irish language act and same-sex marriage.
