LESS THAN HALF of people polled in a recent survey said they are satisfied with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s handling of the Brexit process.

According to an opinion poll conducted by Kantar/Sunday Independent, less than 43% of people polled said they were satisfied with the Taoiseach’s approach to the increasingly tricky Brexit process with 33% of that cohort saying they were “quite satisfied”.

However, 27% of people said they were not satisfied with Varadkar’s handling of the situation and a further 22% of people said they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. 8% of people polled said they didn’t know. 

The poll was conducted nationwide and also found that 72% of Ireland’s farmers were concerned with the EU Mercosur deal. 

Tensions have risen between the Irish and British governments in recent days following the ascension of Boris Johnson to 10 Downing Street. 

In recent days, Varadkar and Tánaiste Simon Coveney have both given statements on the current Brexit state of play following the appointment of Johnson as the British Prime Minister.

Coveney said that Johnson’s recent comments on Brexit have been “unhelpful” while the DUP has accused the Irish government of being “hysterical” and “self-centred” in its reaction to Johnson’s comments. 

Meanwhile, Downing Street is preparing for a no deal Brexit.

Writing in today’s The Sunday Times, Michael Gove said there is a “very real prospect” that an agreement would not be struck with Brussels before the Halloween deadline.

“The EU’s leaders have, so far, said they will not change their approach — it’s the unreformed withdrawal agreement, take it or leave it,” Gove said. 

We still hope they will change their minds, but we must operate on the assumption that they will not.