The Taoiseach has put it up to the UK to make concessions on a Brexit deal claiming Ireland will not be victimised for something we did not choose. Pressed on this Mr Varadkar said the UK is offering us "nothing at the moment". Mr Varadkar said the main objective of Ireland and the EU is to avoid a hard border and stressed that the backstop is the means by which this can be achieved. Asked about possible technologies that could be used to carry out checks but at the same time avoid a hard border, Mr Varadkar said: "They don't exist and nobody has been able to show them to me. He added that people should be "under no illusion" that a no-deal Brexit would cause huge strain on the Irish economy.

Source: Irish Examiner January 25, 2019 18:22 UTC