Arlene Foster calls for close Irish relations post-Brexit

DUP leader Arlene Foster has said that the futures of Northern Ireland and the Republic will still be closely connected after Brexit. "Today was a difference in tone, but not in policy", she said.

"The Democratic Unionist Party supported the United Kingdom leaving the European Union but in so doing Brexit is not about pulling up the drawbridge, building a wall and cutting ourselves off from our nearest neighbours", she added.

Her speech set out her vision of north-south relations during the Brexit process.

On Saturday, she said that "we must learn lessons" from how phase one negotiations were handled.

However, she added that it was "not in our interests to the see the Republic of Ireland do anything other than prosper".

Mrs Foster also said she thinks of the Republic and Northern Ireland like a semi-detached house - saying they look the same on the outside, but that things are done differently inside.

"The DUP leader has said she is opposed to a hard border and open to novel solutions".

She also advocated an increased role for the British-Irish Council in maintaining relations and working together "on issues of shared interest" post-Brexit.

"But we must all recognise that change is coming as a result of the referendum".

Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill has stated that a United Ireland is within grasping distance. There is no good Brexit.