Ireland's Minister for European Affairs Helen McEntee speaks at an Institute of International and European affairs event in Dublin, Ireland January 30, 2019. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain must set out its goals if it wants to get an extension to the Brexit timescale to try to reach a deal to leave the European Union, Ireland’s Europe Minister Helen McEntee said on Friday.

“If they were to ask for an extension I think it would be approved ... but there is no point in looking for an extension if we end up back to the same place as we are now in three months’ time,” McEntee told BBC radio.