Ireland should take Theresa May “at her word” when she says the UK Government does not want a post-Brexit hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, a former Taoiseach has said.

Bertie Ahern, who served as Irish prime minister for more than a decade before leaving office in 2008, said Mrs May had “constantly said she doesn’t want a physical border” between the two countries.

The European Union and Ireland have expressed a similar sentiment and as a result both sides of the negotiating table should concentrate on finding a technological solution to the border issue, he said.

Mr Ahern said he believed technology could be used to keep track of the majority of goods and therefore the creation of a hard border could be avoided.

However, he suggested both Ireland and the UK might have to “turn a blind eye” on the movement of certain items which technology could not provide a solution for.

The Irish border has emerged as a key Brexit stumbling block in recent days with the EU having said the UK must spell out an acceptable solution before a crunch summit in December when European leaders will decide whether withdrawal talks can move onto trade.