DUP leader Arlene Foster. Picture by Liam McBurney/PA Wire.

GERRY Adams has claimed the DUP is "disrespecting" the north's electorate by ignoring the concerns of a majority who voted to remain within the EU.

The Sinn Féin leader was responding to Arlene Foster's assertion that taoiseach Leo Varadkar was failing to acknowledge the will of the UK to sever ties with Brussels.

The DUP leader was referring to remarks from the Fine Gael leader in which he voiced the hope that Brexit would not happen.

But Mr Adams welcomed the taoiseach's recent comments on Brexit and those of Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney, who said it was for the UK to "come up with imaginative and if necessary unique solutions" to avoid a hard border.

The Sinn Féin leader said he would be stressing the Irish government's responsibility to defend the will of the north's electorate when he meets his Fine Gael counterpart in Belfast today.

"Sinn Féin believes that the best way to defend the Good Friday Agreement, and to ensure that our economies are protected during Brexit, is for the north to be designated a special status within the EU," the Louth TD said yesterday.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood, who will also meet Mr Varadkar today, also backed the Dublin government, saying its position on Brexit was "rooted in reality" while the DUP was "rudderless".

"I will encourage the taoiseach to stick rigidly by his position that there can be no new economic or physical border imposed on the island of Ireland," he said.

"The Irish government should not and cannot move from this position – we are equal members of the EU 27 but Ireland is more equal than the others on the issue of Brexit and we stand to lose most."

Mr Eastwood said he would encourage the taoiseach to "engage more directly" with the forthcoming talks aimed at restoring devolution.

Ahead of Mr Varadkar's visit to Belfast, a former Fine Gael taoiseach challenged the DUP and its British government allies to spell out exactly the sort of Brexit they want.

John Bruton said neither had "come forward with their own ideas" on issues such as the border or remaining in the customs union after the UK leaves the EU.

He added that the English overruled the wishes of Northern Ireland and Scotland and they now need to "change their opinion".

Speaking on RTE's Good Morning Ireland, Mr Bruton said while it looked likely that Brexit would now happen, "we have to do everything we can to stop it happening, if we can".

The former taoiseach said the DUP needed to be more up-front with its own Brexit ideas.

Meanwhile, ahead of the taoiseach's visit to the north - and his attendance at a gay pride event in Belfast tomorrow - peace campaigner Mairead Maguire added her voice to the campaign for same sex marriage.

Calling for a change in the law in the north she said who anyone chose to love or marry was "one of our basic human rights".

Former Ulster Unionist leader Tom Elliott meanwhile has urged Mr Varadkar to expedite the process of releasing intelligence files held by the Republic which could shed light on paramilitary actions carried out during the Troubles.