The taoiseach has told unionists he recognises it is a "difficult time" for them amid reports the north could have special status in the Brexit plan the British government has negotiated with the EU.
Leo Varadkar told the Dáil today: "I know that for the unionist community in Northern Ireland at the moment that this quite a difficult time, I know many of them may be feeling vulnerable, many of them may be feeling isolated and many of them may be quite worried about what may be agreed in the coming days.
"I want to say to them that the Good Friday Agreement will be protected and that includes a recognition that we respect the territorial integrity of the United Kingdom and that we respect the principle of consent that there can be no change of the constitutional status of Northern Ireland unless a majority of people in Northern Ireland say so.
"We're very happy to have that written into any agreement giving them that legal guarantee."
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says he recognises it's a "worrying" time for unionists with the #Brexit negotiations, but that the integrity of the UK is not at risk. Read the latest here: https://t.co/fDPFGc7zUz pic.twitter.com/AcSAk5SwL5
— BBC News NI (@BBCNewsNI) November 14, 2018
Mr Varadkar was speaking after DUP chief whip Jeffrey Donaldson warned the arrangements for Northern Ireland could lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom.
He claimed the deal would in the "long term" leave Northern Ireland closely aligned with the EU and could increase support for Scottish independence.
"It's about the constitutional and economic integrity of the UK, that is fundamental for us," he told BBC Radio, adding that the "DUP does not stand alone on this, we have many friends within the Conservative Party and indeed in some other parties, who believe this deal has the potential to lead to the break-up of the UK".
An emergency summit of European leaders will likely convene on November 25 to consider the draft Brexit deal if the UK government backs the proposed text, the taoiseach has said.
Addressing the Dáil, Leo Varadkar said the European Council would meet in Brussels to potentially sign off on the 500 page document if Theresa May can secure cabinet approval in the interim.
"Back in December when the joint report - the agreement between the EU and UK - was issued, I said the next step was to turn that joint report that we agreed back in December into a legally binding and legally operable withdrawal agreement and we are close to that point today," he said.
"But it is still a draft agreement. It is yet to be agreed by the British government and they will discuss it this afternoon and it is yet to be agreed by the European Council and we may be in a position to have an emergency European Council meeting before the end of the month to do exactly that."
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Mr Varadkar fielded questions in the Dáil after briefing ministerial colleagues on the draft text in an emergency Cabinet meeting at Government Buildings this morning.
He told TDs inside Leinster House: "Should the UK cabinet be in the position this afternoon to say it's content with the text, it is proposed that the Commission Taskforce would be in a position perhaps tonight to publish the text with the possibility or probability of an EU council meeting around the 25th of November."
Mr Varadkar said he did not want to speak publicly on the fine detail of the draft agreement, stressing that the process was at a very sensitive stage.
"We do have a very important and very sensitive cabinet meeting that will happen in London starting at 2pm today and I don't want to say anything here today that might up-end that cabinet meeting or make things any more difficult than they are already for the prime minister," he said.
The taoiseach said he was confident the suggested deal would not negatively impact on the terms of the Good Friday Agreement - which had a strong emphasis on cross-border co-operation and linkages.
"My reading is the Good Friday Agreement is not negatively impacted by this," the taoiseach said.
"In fact it is protected by the draft agreement."
On the contentious "backstop" proposal - that would guarantee a free flowing border even if a broader UK/EU trade deal failed to materialise - Mr Varadkar insisted it could not have an "expiry date".
"It is a fall-back, it's an insurance policy," he said.
Mr Varadkar added: "The backstop does have to be there. It does have to be legally operable, it can't have an expiry date and it can't be possible for any one side to withdraw from it unilaterally.
"But it is important to appreciate that it is our intention that the backstop should never be invoked and that if it is invoked it should only be temporary until such a time that a new agreement is in place to supersede all or part of it.
"But it must apply unless or until that is the case."
Mr Varadkar stressed that the draft agreement would also have to be ratified by Westminster and the European Parliament. The taoiseach said, while not necessary, it was his view that the text should also be put to a vote in the Irish parliament.
He said the Dublin government planned to brief all the opposition party leaders and their teams this evening if his administration was in a position to publish the text.
Mr Varadkar said his government had arranged to have a briefing with Northern Ireland parties on Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has criticised the DUP over their reaction to the Brexit deal.
DUP leader Arlene Foster voiced concern about the deal, while East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson said his party will not vote for it.
Some Conservative MPs have also criticised the deal, claiming it would keep the UK under EU control.
Mr Martin said the matter "deserves better than that".
"I was a bit dismayed to see people coming out very early - Sammy Wilson from the DUP, for example - even before they had read anything to do with the text, proclaiming they were going to oppose it, and people from the hard Brexiteer group as well," he said.
"I think the issue deserves better than that, and I would hope that the other parties in Britain would stand back and look at this in detail and come to a considered position on the agreement which has been reached between the European Union and the United Kingdom."
Mr Martin said relations between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are at their lowest in 20 years and blamed the Conservative government at Westminster and the Fine Gael administration in Dublin for changing "the overall dynamic".
"Where the Major, Blair and Brown governments had shown a deep commitment to Northern Ireland's long-term progress, there was an apparent impatience in the Cameron government that they still had to spend time on the issue," he said.
"In fact David Cameron's approach was that Northern Ireland had to 'stand on its own two feet' rather than expect London to help overcome every problem.
"The change of government in Dublin also marked a new approach. Set-piece meetings continued but there was a clear disengagement and an expectation that it was time to just let the DUP and Sinn Féin get on with business."
Speaking to the media at an Irish Association conference at Queen's University Belfast, Mr Martin said:
"I welcome the fact that the European Union and the United Kingdom, it seems, have agreed on a text for the withdrawal part of the agreement.
"The devil is in the detail and that is something we have got to keep an eye on, not just today but in the coming years. Brexit is going to be a long journey, this is just the withdrawal agreement.
"What's key for me is Brexit is not good for Ireland, it's not good for Britain, so we have got to aim for the softest Brexit possible.
"A no-deal scenario would be Armageddon, it would be ruinous for Britain."
Speaking at the same event Ulster Unionist Steve Aiken also commented on deteriorating relations both north/south and east/west.
He said: "The DUP told us they were holding the Conservative Party to account. Look what they have done, they have undermined the union, they have helped destroy devolution in Northern Ireland, the DUP has been an absolute disaster.
"It has been a disaster for Northern Ireland, it has been a disaster for unionism, and I think members of the DUP need to very clearly reflect on where they have got themselves in this position."
