THE taoiseach has said any solution to the Brexit deadlock must have the support of people in Northern Ireland.
Leo Varadkar claimed the UK's adoption of a "like it or not" position for the north was creating "huge difficulties" in efforts to secure a deal with the EU.
His comments come ahead of a crunch meeting in England today with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who continues to insist that the UK will leave the EU at the end of the month, with or without an agreement
The prospects of a breakthrough look increasingly remote, with EU leaders casting serious doubt on the British government's latest proposals and accusing Mr Johnson tabling untested ideas to solve the issue of the border.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said Brussels needed workable solutions "today not tomorrow", while European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told MEPs that there had been limited progress in the negotiations.
Ahead of next week's crucial EU summit, Mr Barnier told the European Parliament he had yet to see any "operational, legally binding solution" to the issue of the backstop.
He said the EU would continue to work in a "calm" and "constructive" manner to try to find an agreement but it was clear that Mr Johnson's blueprint, which would require the return of customs checks in Ireland, was not the basis for a breakthrough.
The plan would see Northern Ireland staying within the single market - subject to a veto every four years by unionists at Stormont - but leaving the customs union.
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"The proposal of the British government as things stand is not something we can accept. It replaces an operational, practical, legal solution with one that is simply a temporary solution," Mr Barnier said.
Mr Juncker told the parliament that the EU would not get drawn into a "blame game".
Speaking in the Dáil, Mr Varadkar said the UK position on Northern Ireland was causing "great difficulty" in reaching a deal.
He said there had been no change to the EU negotiating position but reiterated the Dublin government's desire for a deal but "certainly not at any cost".
The Times newspaper reported yesterday that the EU may be willing to make a Northern Ireland-only backstop - keeping the region in the single market and the customs union to avoid a hard border - subject to a vote requiring the consent of both nationalists and unionists.
The taoiseach said Dublin was "absolutely open to proposals that will take into account the democratic wishes and the views of the people of Northern Ireland".
"But we need to make sure that any such arrangements are workable," he said.
"It is a sad fact that the Northern Ireland Assembly hasn't met for three years, and has only met for about half the time that's been in existence."
The Fine Gael leader said it was also important to bear in mind that Northern Ireland voted by a clear majority to remain in the EU and that there was strong support for the backstop in the region.
Mr Varadkar said part of the difficulty is the UK's position that Northern Ireland must leave the customs union.
He claimed it has adopted this position whether the people of Northern Ireland "like it or not".
"That creates huge difficulties for us because we want there to be a deal that respects the wishes of the people of Northern Ireland, and indeed the people in this Republic too."
Speaking from Brussels yesterday, Sinn Féin deputy leader Michelle O'Neill said the north could not afford to be excluded from the single market and customs union.
"I have made our position clear that any notion of a Stormont veto, lock or block on when or how a backstop and legal guarantee would be applied is unrealistic and a non-runner," she added.
DUP Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson said the 'double majority' proposal would turn the Good Friday Agreement’s consent mechanism "on its head".
"Northern Ireland would be trapped until Sinn Féin consented it could leave," he said.
"The United Kingdom must leave the European Union as one country and any decision to enter into regulatory alignment must have the consent of both unionists and nationalists."
Alliance's Stephen Farry said effectively giving a veto to either unionists or nationalists is unacceptable.
"Any issues of consent by the assembly will be inherently loaded, based upon what is the assigned status quo and turned into a de facto debate on the constitutional question, instead of addressing the point," he said.
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