DUBLIN (REUTERS) - Ireland wants a deal on an orderly British exit from the European Union but Britain has so far failed to come up with a written plan, Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney said on Tuesday (Sept 17).

"We in the EU ...are open to a deal but it must achieve the aims of the backstop through a legally operable solution,"Coveney told reporters.

"We await written proposals from the UK side. We simply haven't seen any written proposals to date."

Asked about plans to manage the land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland - and in particular the location of emergency checks in the event of no-deal - Coveney said he hoped to have clarity on the contentious issue weeks before Britain is due to leave the bloc on Oct31.

"We won't sign up to any (trade) agreement that requires checks with the UK," he said.

"The response will involve checks somewhere. I don't think they will be near the border."