Not enough time to find Irish border solution, MPs warn Ministers will not have time to find a technical solution that will avoid a hard border in Ireland before Britain […]

Ministers will not have time to find a technical solution that will avoid a hard border in Ireland before Britain leaves the European Union, MPs have warned.

Concern is mounting over the Government’s progress in finding answers to the looming problem of the Irish border.

In a withering assessment of ministers’ efforts, the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee said the Government had provided “no evidence” that a technical solution to the border problem could be found.

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No time

The report comes after David Davis revealed to the Commons yesterday that the last time he had visited Ireland to discuss the border was 20 years ago before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

In its report, the committee concluded that the Government’s proposals for the border were “imaginative but that it will not have the time to implement a new non-visible customs regime before withdrawal day”.

Committee Chair Andrew Murrison MP said Brexit’s success “hinges on the UK-Ireland border”.

“Everyone agrees that the border after Brexit must look and feel as it does today,” Mr Murrison said.

“However, we have heard no evidence to suggest that there is currently a technical solution that would avoid infrastructure at the border. Furthermore, we have no detail on how checks on goods and people will be undertaken away from the border.”

The report states that a “significant” transition period is essential for the proposals set out in the joint report agreed between the EU and the UK Government in December to be worked through. This is despite the Brexit Secretary agreeing to cut the transition period short by three months.

The Committee said it heard “numerous” proposals for how the UK and the EU could ensure customs compliance without physical infrastructure, including mobile patrols, data sharing and enforcement measures away from the border.

No delay

“However, we have had no visibility of any technical solutions, anywhere in the world, beyond the aspirational, that would remove the need for physical infrastructure at the border.

“We recommend the Government bring forward detailed proposals, without further delay, that set out how it will maintain an open and invisible border,” the report adds.

MPs heard yesterday that the Brexit Secretary had not visited Ireland to discuss the border for more than 20 years.

Responding to an invitation to travel to Northern Ireland in the Commons, Mr Davis said: “This is an important issue—indeed, the very last conversation I had with Martin McGuinness was about exactly this—and I will do so when the time arises. The simple truth is that this border issue is resolvable if we have a free trade agreement and, if we have a customs agreement, it is resolvable by technical means as well.”