Next 24 hours will make or break Brexit deal, warns Coveney

While saying "I don't think it's inevitable that we can't get a deal before the summit" this week and stressing no emergency EU summit for next week has been planned as yet, Mr Coveney said a deal must be agreed by Wednesday evening if it will be agreed this week.

And, stressing no negotiations on the text of an agreement will be allowed to happen during this week's EU summit of leaders, the Tánaiste added that "progress needs to be made today" to avoid a further escalation of the long-running Brexit crisis.

"First of all I don't think it's inevitable that we can't get a deal before the summit, I think

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"That means a lot of progress needs to be made today, but I think that's doable if there is a willingness on both sides to move this process to conclusion.

Of course if that doesn't happen, it leads to another debate in terms of how the leaders will respond to that in the context of whether more time will be needed or whether we will continue discussions into next week.

"But I think we should focus on trying to get the job done, and certainly I think that's what Michel Barnier and his task force are focussed on and the UK side is the same," Mr Coveney said.

Mr Coveney later rejected suggestions the Brexit deadline is now tonight saying "we're not putting any deadlines on discussions, it is of course possible to move beyond the summit and to continue talks next week, that is feasible because the UK isn't due to leave the EU until the end of the month".

However, he again stressed:

"From everybody's perspective if we could provide clarity at this leaders summit then I think that would be a welcome development.

"From an EU perspective if the deal can't be done today or tomorrow before the summit well then the leaders will have to decide what kind of mandate to give Michel Barnier - it will certainly be a much cleaner conclusion to these negotiations if we could get a deal done before the EU summit."

Asked specifically if the UK has moved in any way and if he can outline any Northern Ireland changes suggested by British prime minister Boris Johnson, Mr Coveney said "I don't think it's helpful for me to speculate on the detail of the discussions" which are ongoing.

Similarly, when it was put to him again that there is a high likelihood of an emergency EU summit being called for later in the month to conclude any potential deal, he added:

"If there is to be a further meeting of EU leaders, that will be a matter for the EU leaders to decide themselves at the summit, but at the moment there's no plans for an emergency summit next week.

"And as I say, even though it's difficult to get it done, I think the focus in the negotiations is to try and get this done sooner rather than later."

Brexit Timeline

By Fiachra Ó Cionnaith

• Tuesday, October 8: Tánaiste Simon Coveney meets the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier in Brussels.
• Thursday, October 10: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and British prime minister Boris Johnson hold a three hour private meeting in Cheshire, England. Afterwards, they release a rare joint statement saying there is a "pathway" to a deal.
• Friday, October 11: Leaks confirm this "pathway" has been trodden on before, and has an uncanny resemblance to Mr Johnson's predecessor Theresa May's 2017 deal. Under the proposals, Northern Ireland would leave the EU with the UK but would continue implementing EU customs rules, creating an Irish sea EU border and preventing a hard Irish border. Stormont could also be given a "consent" vote.
• Sunday, October 13: EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier says the Northern Ireland plan may be unworkable. The DUP rejects the existing deal.
• Monday, October 14: Intense EU-UK talks continue during the EU general affairs council and foreign affairs council in Luxembourg, with informed speculation indicating an emergency EU summit will be needed next week as a deal is unlikely this week.
• Tuesday, October 15: Mr Coveney and Mr Barnier mirror the deadline concerns in the morning. However, by late afternoon, sources suggest a deal could be struck early on Wednesday.
• Tomorrow, Wednesday October 16: Mr Barnier will brief EU member state ambassadors on whether a deal can be agreed at this week's EU summit.
• Thursday, October 17-Friday, October 18: EU leaders including Mr Varadkar and Mr Johnson will attend the latest Brussels EU summit. If a deal is ready, they will consider signing off on it. If a deal is not ready, they will discuss a potential emergency EU summit and whether to allow a "technical extension" of a few days.
• Saturday, October 19: Mr Johnson will attend a potential weekend House of Commons sitting to sign off on a deal. If he cannot produce a deal, he will be legally obliged to seek an extension to the October 31 Brexit deadline - provided he complies with British law.