THE prospect of an all-Ireland food standards zone has been raised by Boris Johnson as part of a solution to replace the Brexit backstop.
During Commons exchanges, the Prime Minister said he recognised that "for reasons of geography and economics, agri-food is increasingly managed on a common basis across the island".
He told MPs: "We are ready to find ways forward that recognises this reality, provided it clearly enjoys the consent of all parties and institutions with an interest."
Any all-Ireland arrangement would have to have the support of the Democratic Unionist Party and other Unionists in Northern Ireland.
Nigel Dodds, the DUP’s deputy leader, made clear his party would be "willing to sit down and look at what Boris is looking at and what can be done".
He added: "We want to get a deal provided it's within the parameters of ensuring that it's not economically and constitutionally injurious to the Union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland."
Any alignment by Northern Ireland with the Republic would effectively mean it would continue to abide by EU rules. This would result in some food products coming from elsewhere in the UK being subject to new checks and controls at Northern Irish ports.
The island of Ireland is already a single zone for animal health, which means all livestock coming into Northern Ireland from Great Britain is checked on entry.
Mr Johnson is expected to talk about this and other Brexit-related matters when he visits Dublin on Monday to meet Leo Varadkar, his Irish counterpart.
Earlier this week, a leaked government document suggested an all-Ireland food standards zone was being considered as part of a solution to replace the backstop.
The document said alignment of standards between Northern Ireland and the Republic was seen as "one of the most practical, deliverable and negotiable facilitations".
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