Ireland and EU stand firm behind the deal

Appeals from the DUP - the 'no surrender' champions of Northern Irish politics - to the Irish Government to stop being unreasonable are jarring. Yesterday, facing the biggest crisis these islands have seen in recent history, Arlene Foster chose not to go to 10 Downing Street to negotiate with the hapless Theresa May, whom she had cast under the omnibus a day previously.

If there is acrimony and consternation in the air in London and Belfast, there is unanimity and clarity in Dublin and Brussels. The core position on the Irish Border in the Brexit negotiations will not change, the Taoiseach told his Cabinet.

The 11th-hour dismissal by the DUP of a proposal that regulation on the island of Ireland should continue to be aligned after Brexit has created political convulsions.

The danger now is that the red-eyed, anti-Europe Tories are set on a disastrous course. The irony seen by everyone, except the DUP, is that as London, Scotland and Wales trip over themselves to demand what looks like the best of all possible worlds post-Brexit, the only group eligible to avail of it, the DUP, is dead set against it.

Even as it storms off the pitch with the ball under its arm, it is insisting on how the game be played. The Taoiseach has gone to considerable lengths to be conciliatory, but he can hardly be expected to unravel a deal agreed with Mrs May and approved by Europe.

The febrile atmosphere notwithstanding, the agreement by the UK and the EU - that would see the British guarantee no changes to the Border after Brexit by pledging to keep "regulatory alignment" between north and south - represents a breakthrough on the grounds of give and take. And that is as good as it gets, given that any scenario post-Brexit, even at its most orderly, would still be a net loss for this country.

The DUP's backbench rebellion, allied to Mrs May's weakness, does not bode well for the prospects of moving on to the next phase of the Brexit talks after next week's summit. Mr Varadkar is adamant that while the wording in the agreement reached between officials might change, the meaning of the text must not. The clock is ticking.

We have to face up now to climate change problems

The problems of climate change are all too real and we either foot the bill now or pass it on to our children. The Climate Change Advisory Council's report makes an overwhelming case for settling our account sooner, rather than later.

Demands for big rises in the carbon tax on home heating and motoring fuels will be politically unpopular, but they are unquestionably what is urgently required if we are to make any headway in reducing emissions.

The case for major investment in public transport is also incontrovertible. Our roads are gridlocked with cars belching fumes into the atmosphere. Drivers would undoubtedly be happy to use alternatives if they were offered and easily accessible.

Behaviours will clearly have to change just to meet international obligations.

Climate Action Minister Denis Naughten has signalled an end to grants for oil and gas boiler upgrades. In future, they will only be available for heat pumps.

These are the small but essential changes that must be made. As council chair Professor John Fitzgerald explained: "Ireland has the third-highest emissions per capita for residential energy use in the EU."

This is not sustainable. We cannot continue to be perennial serial offenders when it comes to missing targets on cutting emissions.

Irish Independent