Varadkar – No Brexit deal without Johnson U-turn on backstop
The Taoiseach has warned the new UK Prime Minister that he will have to row back on some of the things he has said in recent days if he truly wants to secure a Brexit deal.
Leo Varadkar was speaking after Boris Johnson said there would be no Brexit deal without the ‘abolition’ of the Irish border backstop.
The two leaders have yet to speak since Mr Johnson was confirmed to office on Wednesday.
Speaking in Donegal this evening, Mr Varadkar again warned that the backstop is an essential part of any deal.
New Northern Secretary leaves door open to the backstop
The new Northern Ireland Secretary has left the door open to the possibility of a Brexit deal that includes the Irish border backstop.
Julian Smith today met the Tánaiste Simon Coveney on his first visit to Northern Ireland since his appointment.
After the meeting, Minister Coveney warned that the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had put Britain on a “collision course” with the EU and Ireland with his insistence that the backstop must be ‘abolished’ to break the Brexit deadlock.
This evening, Mr Smith rejected that claim.
Planning permission rejected for Dublin’s first supervised injection centre
An application to set up Ireland's first supervised injection facility in Dublin has been refused by planners.
Dublin City Council planners said there was an "overconcentration of social support services in the Dublin 8 area".
It said the planned facility for drug users at Merchant's Quay would "undermine the existing local economy" and efforts to develop tourism there.
The decision also claims the facility would have an "injurious impact on the local residential community and its residential amenities, and would hinder the future regeneration of the area".
Wheelchair users protest over lift issues at DART stations
Wheelchair users say they are being discriminated against because broken lifts aren't being fixed promptly at some DART stations.
A protest is being held at Clontarf Road to highlight the problems access issues cause for people with disabilities getting around the city.
Some lifts have been out of service for up to two weeks.
Among those at today's protest - organised by the DART Access for All group - included wheelchair users, activists and People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett.
Irish man sentenced to 6.5 years in prison over Silk Road role
An Irish man who was extradited to the US has been sentenced to more than six years in prison for his role in helping operate the Silk Road website.
31-year-old Gary Davis from Kilpedder in Wicklow had pleaded guilty to narcotics conspiracy in October last year.
Silk Road was an online 'dark web' black market for illegal drugs and other goods.
It was owned and operated by Ross William Ulbricht, aka 'Dread Pirate Roberts'.
