Britain's prime minister has confirmed that she wants the country to pull out of the European single market as a result of Brexit.

Theresa May's speech means Ireland faces the prospect of losing free trade with its biggest commercial partner.

May argued that staying in the European single market would effectively mean retaining so many European rules - and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice - that Brexit itself was moot.

However the prime minister's long-awaited speech also included a commitment to try and maintain the open border along the North.

But how this can be achieved remains unclear, as May said one of the chief objectives of Brexit would be to make sure hat Britain was able to manage immigration from Europe.

In a statement of its own this lunchtime the Irish government says its welcomes the certainty offered, and that it's still prepared for various degrees of Brexit.

But the threat of losing trade access with our biggest trading partner, is one the Irish government is taking very seriously.

Our political correspondent Gavan Reilly filed this report for Today FM's National Lunchtime News: