Irish and British nationals living in each other countries will not be required to apply for settled status to protect their entitlements in Ireland and the UK respectively, while the rights to work, study, access social security and public services will be preserved on a reciprocal basis for Irish and UK nationals.22 Dec 2017You are a bit mixed up about how the CTA came into being, but please note the people who fall foul of it are the Brexiteers, not the EU and not anyone who wants freedom of movement to continue.
If your red line is control of migration from the EU, then you have to deal with the CTA (and as I’ve said previously, the difference in status between citizens of the Republic and the other 26 was and is the best way we could get a deal on that).
Irish citizens won't need to apply for settled status (they can if they wish to), as their right of residence in the UK is not dependent on it being in the EU. ... The government has said that those who already have a permanent residence or indefinite leave to remain document can swap this for settled status.2 Jul 2018