Politicians may need to “surprise people” to resolve the dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Conveney has said, amid fresh hopes that a compromise can be reached.
Mr Coveney also said on Friday that renewed technical discussions between the UK and the EU this week had gone “reasonably well”.
Recent days have been dominated by renewed hopes in Brussels and Dublin that the UK could be in a mood to reach a deal, after months of wrangling over the post-Brexit settlement for the region.
As well as the exchange of warm words, the attendance of UK Prime Minister Liz Truss at a European summit in Prague on Thursday also prompted speculation that a thaw in relations between the EU and the UK could be possible.
In London on Friday to attend a meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, Mr Coveney and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris offered a largely united front, expressing hope that this time a solution can be brokered.
UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly met Mr Coveney in London on Thursday, with the pair expressing warm words and a desire for close co-operation.
Negotiations between UK and EU officials also restarted on Thursday afternoon.
Mr Coveney said: “Political leadership is about making things happen and sometimes surprising people, and I think that’s what we need to do over the next few weeks, to provide reassurance.
“Our focus is on timelines here. Can we find a way of making a big step forward before the end of October that can be a basis for reassuring particularly the unionist community that makes sense for them to be part of an executive and functioning assembly?
“I don’t think we can get everything agreed in the space of three weeks, that is completely unrealistic. But the question is can we make progress that is measurable and serious in that period where people can see we’re on a course that the people can start believing in?”
Mr Heaton-Harris, flanked by Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker, also repeated his intention to call an election if the DUP does not return to the executive table by the legal deadline of October 28.
Current legislation says that if Stormont is not restored by then, then Mr Heaton-Harris should call a new election.
Talks between the UK and Ireland are expected to intensify over coming weeks to avoid another “unnecessary” poll, Mr Coveney told reporters.
He also said he was “very positive” that a solution can be found over the protocol, which was agreed by the UK and the EU as part of the Withdrawal Agreement and sought to avoid a hard border with Ireland after Brexit.
The arrangements have created trade barriers on goods being shipped from Great Britain to Northern Ireland and are vehemently opposed by many unionists in Northern Ireland.
Mr Heaton-Harris said: “I want to be very positive about the chances of getting a negotiated solution.
“I believe we’re all working in good spirit with good co-operation to deliver on the changes that are required for the protocol to be fixed or the issues within the protocol to be fixed.
“And we need to we need to show some progress on that.”
Mr Coveney said Government was looking for a “nil-all draw” in negotiations between the UK and the EU to resolve the row over the protocol.
The Government has been among the strongest critics of the Bill, but Mr Coveney appeared upbeat on Friday about the opportunity for a deal presented by the new-look Truss administration.
“I think the conversations we’re having now with the British Government certainly suggest to me that we are in a different space now, one we haven’t been in for quite some time,” he said.
“What we’re after here is a nil-all draw, where everybody can walk away feeling that they haven’t won or lost, but they can live with the outcome.”
