Donald Trump has said the political crisis that has left Northern Ireland without its power-sharing government will be a "tough one to resolve" but he insisted "we have to work it out".

The ex-president was speaking at his golf course in the Republic of Ireland.

A jazz band and Irish dancers greeted Mr Trump on his arrival on Wednesday.

Northern Ireland's devolved government has not functioned for over a year after the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) pulled out of it.

The move was made in protest against post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland.

At his Doonbeg resort in County Clare, Mr Trump was asked about how he would resolve the long-running dispute.

"Well we're going to see - they're negotiating and we're going to see," he said on Wednesday night.

"There are a lot of negotiations going on in Ireland and other places right now, but it's going be a tough one."

The DUP has taken its stance because it believes the trade arrangements agreed in the original Brexit deal in 2019 undermine Northern Ireland's place within the UK.

Checks on goods arriving in Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK were introduced in order to allow trade to flow freely across the Irish border.

In February this year Prime Minister Rishi Sunak struck a deal with the EU to modify the trade rules and reduce the number of inspections.

But the DUP has said the new agreement, known as the Windsor Framework, does not go far enough and it is demanding more changes before it considers a return to Stormont.

The other main political parties in Northern Ireland have indicated that they support the new deal and they want the power-sharing executive to get up and running again.

Before leaving Doonbeg for Shannon Airport and a flight to the United States, Mr Trump played golf at his resort.

Speaking to reporters, he repeated his denials of allegations he faces in a civil trial in New York of rape and defamation.

He also spoke about said the "good job" the Republic of Ireland had done in "luring" US companies to the country.

A long-standing part of the Republic of Ireland's economic strategy has been to attract major foreign investment - its corporation tax of 12.5% is among the lowest in the developed world.

Global technology companies such as Apple, Facebook and Google have major set-ups in the country.

During his presidency, Mr Trump - who is seeking the Republican Party nomination to run for the White House again in 2024 - said he wanted those companies to bring their profits back to the US.

At Doonbeg on Wednesday he was asked if he would prefer the corporation tax being paid by those companies in Ireland to boost US tax revenue instead.

"I won't answer that question in your country," he said.

"A lot of people would say yes.

"Ireland has done a good job - you've lured a lot of companies in. They love it here, they really love it here.

"They've been treated well just like I've been treated well. This has been a great success."