DUP says it wants Brexit deal, but Northern Ireland must be 'master' of rules

By Graham Fahy

DUBLIN (Reuters) - The Northern Ireland party whose 10 members of parliament back Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government said on Wednesday it wants to help secure an orderly Brexit but that the region must remain “master” of the rules governing its economy.

The Democratic Unionist Party's opposition to the so-called “backstop” mechanism to uphold the seamless Irish border after Britain exits the European Union has proven a formidable obstacle to clinching an EU-UK divorce deal.

DUP backing could prove decisive in securing parliamentary approval of an alternative which is needed to avoid a disorderly Brexit on Oct. 31.

Speaking during a visit to the Irish capital Dublin, DUP leader Arlene Foster said it was wrong to present her party as in favor of a no-deal Brexit and said it was keen not to block off any possible new agreements.

“There is a lot of commentary about the DUP being Brexiteers but I think if you look at the evidence they will find something very different,” Foster told journalists.

Pessimistic comments from EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier on Wednesday about the prospects of a deal “shouldnt stop us from continuing to look for solutions and find a deal”, she said.

But she proceeded to list several red lines that have so far come in the way of a compromise deal, including the insistence that there be no trading barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom after Brexit.

“The UK single market is our most important single market... it would be madness to have any sort of barriers,” she said.

“I think what is important is that if we in Northern Ireland are to move forward we have to be able to be, if you like, masters over the rules, and declarations that come and which we are dealing with,” Foster added in an interview with UTV television.

Northern Ireland could not accept a situation in which it takes rules and regulations from the EU “but have absolutely no say on those EU rules and regulations”, she said.

Foster said she wanted to restore Northern Ireland's devolved power-sharing government, which collapsed almost three years ago when Irish nationalists Sinn Fein withdrew, but added that its restoration was not a pre-requisite for a deal.