Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is meeting the European Council President Donald Tusk in Dublin today, with just ten days to go until the Brexit deadline.
Their meeting comes ahead of a crucial summit of EU leaders later this week.
The British Prime Minister is expected to formally request an extension beyond the March 29th deadline during the meeting.
Mr Tusk has already met a number of EU leaders in recent days - including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Mr Tusk has previously said he'll appeal to EU leaders to be "open to a long extension if the UK finds it necessary to rethink its Brexit strategy and build consensus around it."
In a statement after today's meeting in Dublin, a spokesperson said: "President Tusk expressed the strong and ongoing solidarity with Ireland of the European Council and European leaders.
"They agreed that we must now see what proposals emerge from London in advance of the European Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
"Meanwhile, preparations continue in Ireland and across the European Union for a no deal scenario, which would have serious consequences for all concerned."
Leo Varadkar meeting @donaldtusk at government buildings today to talk Brexit pic.twitter.com/EPqfxnSave
— Seán Defoe (@SeanDefoe) March 19, 2019
Bercow ruling
Today's Dublin meeting comes a day after Theresa May's Brexit plans suffered a fresh blow.
In a shock ruling, House of Commons speaker John Bercow said the withdrawal agreement couldn't be voted on for a third time unless it had significant changes.
Mr Bercow cited the parliamentary rule-book - known as Erskine May - for his decision, saying: "What the government cannot legitimately do is resubmit to the House the same proposition - or substantially the same proposition - as that of last week, which was rejected."
The British government had previously suggested a potential third 'meaningful vote' on the deal again this week - but only if it could get enough support to pass it.
MPs have already overwhelmingly voted down the deal twice, despite Mrs May having secured further legal assurances from the EU over the Irish backstop.
Government officials have been involved in talks with the DUP in a bid to persuade them to back the Brexit deal.
Politicians have now begun considering potential ways to get around Mr Bercow's ruling, which some have claimed represents a 'constitutional crisis'.
While the next steps haven't been announced, options could potentially include starting a new parliamentary session or a vote to bypass the Speaker.
Mrs May's meeting her cabinet today in the wake of the latest development.
This morning, Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay suggested the British government will press ahead with their plans to persuade more MPs to back the deal.
He said: "The Speaker has raised the bar with his ruling yesterday, clearly that merits serious consideration and we will discuss it at Cabinet this morning.
"We always said, in terms of bringing a vote back for a third time, we would need to see a shift from parliamentarians in terms of the support.
"I think that still is the case."
