Ulster Unionist Party leader, Steve Aiken OBE MLA, has called for the pace and approach to addressing the problems caused by the Northern Ireland protocol to change.

Mr Aiken said:

“The comments from the Irish Foreign Minister, Simon Coveney and Sinn Fein`s Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O`Neill are deeply unhelpful at best. Continuing to describe the problems created by the protocol as ‘teething problems’, ‘kinks’ and ‘melodrama’ demonstrate a detachment from what is happening on the ground. Continuing calls for the ‘rigorous implementation’ of the protocol will cause further difficulties.

“For the Irish Foreign Minister to then follow up with dismissive comments such as ‘own it’ is irresponsible. He also claimed that there were difficulties with the EU getting customs information from the UK. I would remind Simon Coveney that Northern Ireland`s Health Minister, Robin Swann, has been requesting data from the Irish Government about arrivals in Dublin Airport for at least eight months to assist in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and it still hasn`t been delivered.

“If Simon Coveney`s intention was to calm things down, his words will have had the opposite effect. They need to tone it down and de-escalate the situation. This dismissive approach to genuine concerns won`t help anybody and certainly doesn`t help create the environment for finding solutions.

“The Belfast Agreement doesn`t come under the exclusive ownership of Dublin or nationalists in Northern Ireland. It wouldn`t have come about without the input of unionists. Regrettably that has been ignored up until now, but that can be changed.

“We need to discuss alternative approaches and the Ulster Unionist Party has tabled its own proposals. I would encourage others to read them. The fact that the UK Government and EU aren`t meeting again until next week to address the issues demonstrates a lack of urgency. The whole pace and approach need to change. Northern Ireland needs solutions not more political prevarication.”