Theresa May and her government are understood to be looking at keeping the UK in the EU customs union for a number of years as agreement on the customs issue has yet to be reached.

RTÉ reports that the UK government is to tell Brussels that it is prepared to stay aligned with the EU customs union for several years post-2020 as its future relationship with the EU and the Irish border issue fail to be agreed.

In the absence of agreement on any proposals, the UK now appears to be looking at the third option outlined by EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, who issued a warning on the Irish border in February.

At the time he outlined the three options that were available to the UK, the third of which was “to maintain full regulatory alignment with the rules of the single market and the customs union - current or future - which supports north-south co-operation, the all-island economy and the Good Friday Agreement”.

It is this option that Theresa May and her government are considering, which would avoid border and customs checks on the island.

Barnier has previously made it very clear, that the UK decision to leave the single market and to leave the customs union would make border checks unavoidable.

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