Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has said that mistakes were made on all sides during the Brexit negotiations.
Mr Varadkar said he would be “flexible and reasonable” when trying to resolve problems with the Northern Ireland protocol.
He admitted that the deal was “perhaps” a “bit too harsh” and that the EU was willing to compromise.
Mr Varadkar became PM for the second time last month.
The Fine Gael leader has been unpopular with some unionists who see him as instrumental in the creation of the controversial protocol.
Asked about this, he said: “I believe we all made mistakes in dealing with Brexit.
“There was no road map, there was no guide, it was not something we expected and we’ve all done our best to deal with it.”
He said he was looking forward to traveling to Northern Ireland early in the new year “to try to find a solution”.
The Northern Ireland Protocol has been a source of tension since it came into force at the start of 2021.
The protocol is part of a Brexit deal that keeps Northern Ireland in line with some EU trade rules.
Power-sharing in Northern Ireland is currently in a state of flux as a result of a boycott of Stormont by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in protest against the protocol.
The DUP has said it will not return to a devolved government unless fundamental changes are made to trade deals.
The UK and the EU are engaged in negotiations to mitigate the effects of the deal.
Mr Varadkar said he understood some unionists felt the deal “creates barriers between the UK and Northern Ireland that didn’t exist before”.
However, he said the same was true of Brexit, which was implemented without cross-community consent.
Mr Varadkar said the protocol had worked without being fully implemented which “I think has room for flexibility and changes”.
He said that this is also the position of European Commission President Ursula van der Leyen and Vice President Maros Seifkovic.
