THE European Commission vice-president says he has not discussed UK proposals that would restore the border on the island of Ireland.

A report in the Sunday Telegraph said Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove is now considering an alternate “mutual enforcement” plan to the Northern Ireland protocol on Brexit.

It would remove the border from the Irish Sea and restore the land border in Ireland, and would require the UK and EU “to apply checks at the same level as each other”.

But speaking yesterday, Maros Sefcovic said his discussions with Gove this week had focused on the implementation of the protocol.

He told RTE’s The Week In Politics: “What we discussed with Michael Gove was very much focused on the implementation of the protocol.

“For us what was a priority is the prosperity of the island of Ireland, unconditional support for peace and, of course, avoiding the hard border.

“These are the three key parameters which have been the primary objective for signing up and negotiating the protocol.

“We are looking into the old possibilities, how to make sure that this would work.”

Sefcovic said there were many “benefits” for Northern Ireland which need to be explored.