The issue of the Irish border after Brexit dominated EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier’s two-day visit to Ireland this week.

Speaking before the fourth all-island dialogue on Brexit in Dundalk on Monday, Barnier said that progress was needed by June on solutions to avoid a hard border in Ireland after the UK leaves the EU.

He described June’s European Council meeting as “a stepping stone” ahead of October’s deadline for a Brexit withdrawal agreement between the EU and the UK.

An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar reiterated comments from Barnier at the event that the backstop option for the Irish border would have to be included in a legal text in the withdrawal agreement.