GLENCOLUMBKILLE, IRELAND : Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Thursday that he was confident an agreement could still be reached to avoid the UK leaving the European Union without a deal.

"I think, notwithstanding the fact there is a new prime minister and there is a new government in Westminster ... I am still confident that a 'no-deal' can be avoided," Varadkar told journalists after the final Irish cabinet meeting before the summer recess.