The Taoiseach's comments about the likelihood of a united Ireland and the need for a "plan B" if power-sharing at Stormont is not restored in the near future have been described as "unhelpful" by the Northern Secretary.
Leo Varadkar was in Belfast for the launch of a €1bn fund to support peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland.
He was joined by European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič and Northern Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris to announce the EU-backed PEACEPLUS programme.
The fund was hailed as an example of cross-border co-operation made possible by a spirit of good will.
But there was little sign of that afterwards.
"Occasionally, unhelpful comments down in Dublin do resonate up here amongst the unionist community, and I need the clearest picture possible to get the Executive up and running," Mr Heaton-Harris said at a press conference afterwards.
It was noted that a seat had been reserved at the launch event for the DUP's Upper Bann MP Carla Lochart, but she did not show, apparently without explanation.
The Taoiseach's comments last week that he expected to see a united Ireland in his lifetime, angered unionist politicians.
For his part, Mr Varadkar was unrepentant.
"I am the Taoiseach, our Constitution articles two and three aspires to unity. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that the Taoiseach of the country would also aspire to unity," he said.
There was also a clear division on the prospects for the restoration of the power-sharing Stormont Executive, with the British government talking up progress made with the DUP in talks in recent weeks.
"I don't want to put an artificial deadline on it, work is ongoing, talks are still ongoing," he added.
"But I think we all appreciate they can't be ongoing forever.
"I think if it is advancing at all, it's advancing at a snail's pace, and I know from talking to all five main parties here that confidence is starting to wane about whether it is going to be possible to get the Assembly and the Executive up and running.
"But there does come a point at which the stalemate can't go on forever," Mr Varadkar said.
Mr Heaton-Harris made it clear he does not believe there is a need for any plan B and insisted progress has been made, saying it was "impossible" to put a timeline on when Stormont would be functional again.
"We are closer to getting somewhere," he said.
"I'm now looking forward to receiving something very helpful from the Democratic Unionist Party in the not-too-distant future."
As relatives of people shot dead by British soldiers in west Belfast in 1972 staged a protest outside, there was even disagreement about exactly what was said during a short bilateral meeting about the British government's controversial legislation to end prosecutions for killings during the Troubles.
The Taoiseach, who last week said the Irish Government is considering taking legal action against the proposed new laws, said he once again asked for the UK to "pause" the plan.
"I don't think he actually asked me to pause the legislation," Mr Hearton-Harris said afterwards.
"He asked where the legacy bill was, what the process was and obviously the Irish Government was unhappy with the bill ... no pause was asked for, but concern was expressed," he added.
Irish Government sources afterwards said they were surprised by the Northern Secretary's public comments following what both sides had described as "a good meeting".
Windsor Framework an 'excellent agreement' - Šefčovič
Mr Šefčovič said that the Windsor Framework was the "definitive solution" to issues created by the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Speaking in Belfast, he said the framework was an "excellent agreement".
He added: "We have been working very, very closely with the UK government. For us it was a definite solution to the outstanding issues and indeed we saw that it got overwhelming support in the UK parliament.
"I think that we have delivered on what we have promised, that we would listen to the worries, the concerns about how the protocol is impacting the daily lives of people in Northern Ireland. I think we have provided the best possible answer to all outstanding issues."
Mr Šefčovič said it was a matter for the Northern Ireland parties when the Stormont power-sharing institutions would return.
Additional reporting PA
