The Tánaiste has urged patience with the negotiations to resolve the North's protocol dispute, insisting a mountain has to be climbed.

Micheál Martin said the UK and EU negotiators still needed to overcome "formidable challenges" if they are to find a solution to cutting red tape on trade between Britain and the North.

While speculation mounts that London and Brussels are on the path to striking a deal over post-Brexit trading arrangements, Mr Martin said the talks should be given "time and space".

Mr Martin joined his British ministerial counterparts at a meeting of the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference in Dublin yesterday.

Commenting on the prospects for a deal, he said: "The issues are very challenging. So, I don't understate the formidable challenges and the mountain that has to be climbed. I do think it's worth the effort."

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Mr Martin added: "It makes sense to be patient here and just to see how this evolves and unfolds."

The DUP insists that it will not lift its veto on powersharing in Stormont until the protocol's economic barriers on trade are removed.

London and Brussels are keen to secure a breakthrough that would facilitate the return of the devolved institutions in Belfast before April's landmark 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

Earlier yesterday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that while it would be "really good" to secure a deal before the anniversary, it was not a hard deadline.