The UK's attempts to override parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol are nothing to do with the North, and are rather a result of "internal Conservative Party politics", according to a TD.
Neale Richmond, Fine Gael's spokesperson on European Affairs, said the British government's actions are "disappointing and reckless", while not totally unexpected.
Mr Richmond told BreakingNews.ie: "The really sad thing is it's hard not to be cynical that this is nothing to do with the Good Friday Agreement, it's nothing to do with Northern Ireland, it's all to do with the internal politics of the Conservative Party.
"Throughout the last six years, every time they need to they just reach for Brexit or Northern Ireland as a distraction. It's not about the protocol, it's about Article 16 or having a kick at the EU over French fishermen. It's so contrived, it's so predictable."
He said British prime minister Boris Johnson's attempts to downplay the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill were "like a red rag to a bull", and would only make further negotiations difficult.
"It's breaching international law, it's putting lots of really good work into jeopardy, and it's just being dismissed," he added.
Mr Richmond said the timing of the bill is no coincidence, and an attempt by Mr Johnson to distract people from the recent partygate revelations and unrest within the Conservative Party over his leadership.
On Wednesday, the European Commission launched two new legal proceedings against Britain over the government's actions.
Mr Richmond said this would have been a last resort, but that the EU was "compelled to take legal action".
"It's probably how they wanted them to react, so they could blame the EU, but really it comes down to the internal dynamics of this British government," he said.
Mr Richmond said he was "increasingly convinced" neither Mr Johnson nor British foreign secretary Liz Truss "really have a clue what is going on in Northern Ireland".
He said Mr Johnson has repeatedly made promises he could not deliver on regarding the North, while he said "Liz Truss couldn't even pronounce Taoiseach", referring to a clip from an interview which went viral in which she appeared to say 'tea sock'.
Tea Sock pic.twitter.com/cVgnYe61Qb
Advertisement— Good Friday Agreement (@BelfastAgmt) June 13, 2022
He said the DUP's stance on the protocol will continue to cause problems, while he believes the UK government's proposals will make the formation of a Northern Ireland Assembly even more difficult.
"The DUP talk about consensus, but completely ignore the fact that the majority in the Assembly back the protocol and are writing to the prime minister asking him not to go forward with this, not to mention the obvious thing that Northern Ireland did not vote for Brexit and the majority of business groups just want stability, they don't want this either.
"The DUP pushed hardest for Brexit but never had a plan, it was pointed out to them repeatedly that Brexit would cause difficulty for the whole island and the Good Friday Agreement, that was ignored."
He also pointed out that the UK government's proposal won't be the "quick fix" they have suggested.
It's really reckless behaviour by the British government.
"It's something that is very easy to shout loudly about, damage relationships, but it doesn't actually do anything. They're not going to be able to make the decisions they propose to do with this legislation and all it does is create instability and bring us back to talking about things that were already dealt with and dismissed years ago.
"The British government is completely changing the rules on it, and they don't know what they want. The status quo is not perfect, it can be made better, but it's a lot more appealing than a no-deal Brexit with a trade war between the EU and the UK, and the potential for border inspections.
"It's really reckless behaviour by the British government."
He said the controversy over the UK government's plans to send refugees to Rwanda is another distraction tactic from Mr Johnson, pointing out that conversation in Britain has shifted completely away from the protocol in the last 48 hours.
Mr Richmond said Britain's threats to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (EHCR), especially with the ongoing war in Ukraine, are further evidence of a lack of respect for international law.
"The only other country that's left the EHCR is Russia," he said.
Mr Richmond said Britain's actions over the Northern Ireland Protocol may well hinder the UK government's ability to make deals with other countries.
As expected, an important & necessary if undesirable response.
All of this is needless, its so sad the ego’s & internal machinations of the Tory Party have lead to all this. https://t.co/ivBjKfMdRO— Neale Richmond (@nealerichmond) June 15, 2022
"One of the great myths of Brexit is that it would unleash 'Global Britain' and they could go and negotiate new agreements and trade deals on far better terms than the EU.
"If you're Australia, Japan, the US, Canada, you'll be looking at the UK saying 'you signed a deal with your closest neighbours, arguably your most important economic neighbours, and within a year you started trying to break that deal'.
"Why would other countries decide they want to sign a deal with a British government that is increasingly deciding to go rogue."
He added: "This notion that Johnson was elected on a platform of 'get Brexit done', Brexit is not going to be done for a generation, there will always be issues to be worked through, do you work through those on a consensual basis with a committee, a partnership, or do you pick a row every 10 seconds, sadly this British government has decided to go for the 'pick a row when it suits' route."
Mr Richmond does not see the issues being resolved any time soon, however, he believes support from EU member states and the United States will help Ireland.
