Ireland says hopeful of Brexit deal next month but work to do

DUBLIN: Ireland is hopeful agreement can be reached on Irish-related issues by mid-December to move Brexit talks onto the next phase but much work remains to be done, Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said on Thursday.

"I am hopeful this can be reached in December, but it is by no means pre-determined," Coveney told a parliamentary committee referring to the outstanding issues, including the Irish border, that Brussels wants broadly solved before it decides in December whether to move the talks onto a second phase about trade.