Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has stated that mistakes were made on all sides during the Brexit negotiations.
Mr Varadkar has stated that he will be “flexible and reasonable” in attempting to resolve issues with the Northern Ireland protocol.
He admitted that the treaty was “perhaps” “a little bit too strict” and that the European Union was willing to make concessions.
Mr Varadkar was elected Prime Minister, or Taoiseach, for the second time last month.
Some unionists view the Fine Gael leader as having played a role in the creation of the contentious protocol.
Asked about this, he said: “I’m sure we’ve all made mistakes in the handling of Brexit.
“There was no road map, no manual; it was not something we anticipated, and we’ve all done our best to deal with it.”
He said he was looking forward to travelling to Northern Ireland early in the new year “in an effort to find a solution”.
Since it went into effect at the beginning of 2021, the Northern Ireland protocol has been a source of contention.