John Downing: 'EU bosses mean well but can't stop hard Border'

So, as our Revenue services ominously continue to ramp up Brexit checking plans, the Irish Government continues its strange policy of "denial and postponement" about a hard Border. Leo Varadkar and colleagues are extremely reticent in accepting reality.

It has been long been clear that a no-deal Brexit means a "hard" Irish Border. The EU Commission and Parliament have made every effort to avoid bald pronouncements on this inevitable reality.

But with little more than two months left to the witching hour, "hardy-border has come to hardy-border".

Reacting to this brutal reality, the Government is trying to delay acknowledging political reality until the full brunt of no deal blame lands on London.

Let's get that blame issue out of the way right now: Up to this point the Irish Government, and especially its key diplomatic negotiators, have done a very good job.

They got the "backstop", an insurance policy which gave the North special status within the EU customs union, obviating prospective trade tariffs, and staying close to the single market, minimising product standard controls. We know the Democratic Unionist Party and eventually the uber-Brexiteers cried foul, and used it as their main reason to up-end the draft EU-UK draft divorce deal.

That deal was beaten by "two tonne-plus" in a vote in the British parliament. But Dublin cannot be blamed for this. Irish representatives cannot re-write centuries of British social, economic and political history.

It is political nonsense to blame Ireland pursuing her national interests for the fallout from Britain's long-standing problems about EU membership.

You could say that it is time our leaders spelled this one out. But in politics sometimes you may not, for many reasons, deploy your best arguments. Among the reasons for reticence in this instance is the inevitability of being accused of "stoking things up", and making Theresa May's impossible job that bit harder.

And any suggestion by Dublin that they could overcome Border controls in the wake of a no-deal Brexit would only encourage the radical Brexiteers. The already ear-dinning rhetoric would gain even more volume in those quarters.

So, we get this rather strange and potentially damaging stance by the Irish Government which is neither flesh, nor foul, nor good red herring. It is easier to ask probing questions on radio and television than it is to plot a way forward through this rather tricky minefield. In fairness to all the Opposition parties at Leinster House, they have totally recognised this reality. We have seen an encouraging version of "green jersey time" being played out over the past few days.

Eventually, in extremis, there will be scope to negotiate how and where controls North and south in Ireland will be applied in a no-deal Brexit. But in such a grim eventuality there must be controls.

So far, the Taoiseach's suggestion that Dublin would seek a kind of no-deal fallback, keeping the North in the EU customs union and close to the single market - a "backstop to the backstop" - is nothing short of risible. This was among the very reasons which led to such a serious Westminster defeat for Mrs May's draft EU-UK divorce deal.

The bigger worry is suggestions that product and tariff controls regarding Ireland North and south could happen on mainland Europe. The reality of that suggestion is that it could limit the Republic of Ireland's EU membership.

There is mounting evidence that a no-deal crash-out Brexit would also inflict huge economic harm on very many UK citizens as it cut jobs and threatened general economic disruption. But given the experience since the Brexit referendum result in June 2016, we cannot presume that this will change things dramatically and belatedly.

There are few options here beyond staying with the EU and avoiding quixotic suggestions that London-Dublin talks offer any remedy.

Irish Independent