In all areas, the UK continues to backtrack.

The European Union argues that we should be subject to rules of the club that we have left.

The precondition is the level playing field.

We can deliver a real Brexit that achieves our objectives.

But if there is not a deal, we still need the Irish protocol or the Northern Irish protocol fully implemented.

I'm going to miss being the pantomime villain. protocol or the Northern Irish protocol fully implemented.

I'm going to miss being the pantomime villain.

Hello and welcome to Brexit Republic, RTE's podcast on Brexit.

I'm Tony Connolly, RTE's Europe editor in Brussels.

I'm Sean Wheeler, RTE's correspondent in London.

And I'm Colimo Mungown, RTE's Deputy Foreign Editor in Dublin. Each week, Brexit Republic assesses all the latest

Brexit developments in Brussels, London and here in Dublin. So it seems the birth pangs of Brexit

are every bit as painful as many predicted. Tales abound of Scottish shellfish producers

going bust, a human cry over paperwork,

busted supply chains, parcels undelivered, crippling tariffs on steel, musicians told their

freewheeling touring days were over. And it's only week two. We'll take a deep dive into the

politics surrounding the early upheavals of Brexit.

Are these teething troubles or a fundamental and painful shift that traders will struggle with for years?

We'll explain why it's not been smooth sailing.

And speaking of which, Ross Lair grabs a new ferry that was originally bound for Belfast

as Irish retailers desperately look to the sea to bring in food from the continent and away from the dreaded land bridge. Well, let's go to those birth pains first, Tony, that you referred to. They're being experienced across these islands. Where should we begin? We should probably begin with Irish fishermen because the fisheries deal was the last part of the treaty to be negotiated on Christmas Eve.

And if you want to look at a clear and present pain for the Irish economy, that's where it is. Irish fishermen have done the worst out of all the eight coastal states alongside Germany.

...