Opinion

Irish border defies Brexit planners

In the course of the increasingly chaotic Brexit negotiations, various claims have been put forward about the number of public roads which actually cross the Irish border.

Stormont's department of infrastructure deserves credit for completing an official survey which concludes, as we reported yesterday, that the total, not including private lanes, stands at 210.

In the circumstances, it should be more clear than ever that optimistic proposals for the introduction of hi tech electronically-based customs arrangements in Ireland are never likely to prove sustainable.

Not for the first time, the British government's key Brexit planners will have to return to the drawing board.