Northern Ireland

Leo Varadkar says Dublin stands by Good Friday Agreement

Arlene Foster said the Good Friday Agreement had been misrepresented. Picture by Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press
Arlene Foster said the Good Friday Agreement had been misrepresented. Picture by Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Arlene Foster said the Good Friday Agreement had been misrepresented. Picture by Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press
By John Manley

THE taoiseach has moved moved to quell any speculation that Brexit could trigger a renegotiation of the Good Friday Agreement.

Leo Varadkar was prompted to defend the 1998 peace accord after DUP leader Arlene Foster claimed the agreement could "evolve" as a consequence of Brexit.

Mrs Foster made the remarks in a newspaper interview ahead of a DUP fringe event at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham.

The former first minister, who left the UUP in 2004 over the party's support for the Good Friday Agreement, told the Daily Telegraph it was wrong to suggest the accord could not be altered to accommodate a final Brexit deal.

The DUP campaigned against the peace deal when it was resoundingly endorsed in referenda on both sides of the border.

Elements of the accord which first secured power-sharing have been altered by subsequent agreements, such as the 2006 St Andrews Agreement and the 2014's Stormont House Agreement.

"It is deeply frustrating to hear people who voted Remain and in Europe talk about Northern Ireland as though we can't touch the Belfast Agreement – things evolve even in the EU context," Mrs Foster said.

The DUP leader did not elaborate on how she felt the agreement could be modified and she later said her comments had been exaggerated.

Her words drew strong criticism on both sides of the border.

  • Arlene Foster's Good Friday Agreement comments 'reckless', says Mary Lou McDonald
  • Widow says Arlene Foster's GFA comments are 'disrespectful' to victims
  • Analysis: the overriding desire to cling onto power could damn us to decades of instability (premium)

Speaking in the Dáil, the taoiseach said the Dublin government stood by the Good Friday Agreement and would "defend its primacy".

"We see our role as the Irish government as the co-defenders of that agreement," he said.

"It is not a piece of British legislation, it is an international agreement between the British and Irish governments, as well as a multi-party agreement among the various parties."

Leo Varadkar said his government stands by the Good Friday Agreement and would 'defend its primacy'
Leo Varadkar said his government stands by the Good Friday Agreement and would 'defend its primacy' Leo Varadkar said his government stands by the Good Friday Agreement and would 'defend its primacy'

The Fine Gael leader conceded that while it may be "factually correct" to say the accord, like any international treaty, could be changed, it required the agreement of British and Irish governments and the consent of the people of Ireland.

"It is certainly, as far as this government is concerned... not up for negotiation in these talks over Brexit," he said.

Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald said the DUP leader's remarks were "dangerous and reprehensible" comments about the GFA.

"They reveal a reckless disregard for the peace process, for prosperity and for progress," she said in the Dáil.

Ms McDonald said the agreement was "not a chip to be bargained with as part of any Tory/DUP Brexit deal".

Former SDLP leader Mark Durkan, who is widely credited with authoring parts of the agreement, tweeted that the DUP "may be emboldened on disposability" of key Good Friday Agreement precepts in the changes made at St Andrews.

"SDLP told then by two governments & Sinn Féin that joint FMdFM (first minister deputy first minister) election wasn't sacrosanct even though we knew it was crucial in getting agreement," he said.

Mr Durkan said "many current problems" stemmed from what he called "that GFA departure".

Ulster Unionist Party leader Robin Swann claimed Mrs Foster's comments potentially undermined the principle of consent.

He described the remarks as "strategically shortsighted".

"The DUP may have been happy to corrupt the 1998 agreement for their own ends at St Andrews, but I cannot believe the DUP leader has been so careless as to throw it open in such a haphazard way which is of no benefit to unionism," he said.

Read more:

  • Leading article: Core principles of Good Friday Agreement cannot be abandoned
  • Michelle O'Neill Platform: Citizens' rights should be protected after Brexit
  • Arlene Foster has 'concerns' over Philip Hammond's no-deal Irish border plan
  • We will never allow a border down Irish Sea, says Bradley