Hello and welcome to a bonus edition of Red Lions, a chance to hear in full our interview with the Tonistale Leo Veradker in his Dublin office.

We recorded the conversation for the View and Sunday politics and we covered a wide range of subjects from the protocol to Anglo-Irish relations, from Sinn Féin's position in the polls to a possible border pole.

But we began with the issue that's dominating Northern Ireland politics at the moment,

the protocol.

Specifically, if he believes that Boris Johnson understood fully what he was signing up to

when he agreed to the withdrawal agreement back in January 2020.

I believe he did.

And, you know, we discussed that together, set out the political

parameters if you like and certainly before any treaty agreement was signed, it was there in

black and white for anyone to read and understand. But then as now, the Irish government is in

solutions mode.

We've always been looking for a solution.

Initially, when the decision was made to leave the European Union,

we were open to the UK as a whole, staying in the single market in the customs union.

We negotiated the backstop. That couldn't get through the House of Commons.

We negotiated the protocol and the withdrawal agreement with Prime Minister Johnson and even now we're still in solutions mode. I think the

European Union has demonstrated a lot of flexibility already, whether it's the grace periods,

the change is made to make sure that medicines can come into Northern Ireland uninterrupted.

Even in recent weeks, Maris Sethkovich, who speaks for the European

Commission, saying that it's possible to eliminate the vast majority of checks down to the bare minimum.

So Ireland and the European Union then, as now, want to find a solution to make sure that the

protocol works.

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