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Taoiseach praises UK-Irish 'reset' ahead of joint summit

Jayne McCormack
BBC News NI political correspondent
Reuters Micheál Martin said Sir Keir Starmer smiling and shaking hands in front of a blue backdrop with purple lighting. They are both wearing suits.Reuters
Micheál Martin said Sir Keir Starmer had been "effective and impactful"

A UK-Ireland summit marks a "major and significant manifestation" of a reset in relations between the two governments in the post-Brexit era, Taoiseach (Irish PM) Micheál Martin has said.

He met Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday evening, ahead of the summit on Thursday.

Speaking at an event on Wednesday, the prime minister said he hoped the evening would be an "early celebration of everything Irish and everything that binds the UK and Ireland together".

The summit is the first of its kind, it will be attended by cabinet members from both the UK and Irish governments in Liverpool.

It comes amid the backdrop of growing security concerns among the UK and EU countries about the influence of Russia.

On Thursday, the prime minister and taoiseach will host a joint business roundtable with industry leaders and businesses across tech, finance, clean energy, manufacturing and construction from the UK and Ireland.

The discussion will focus on potential opportunities for growth and investment, and how the UK and Ireland can work together to build an even more resilient and successful trading relationship.

They will also discuss how both countries can work closer together on renewable energy, tech, AI and security.

The two leaders are due to announce a new data sharing arrangement aimed at increasing the production offshore energy.

As part of the summit, Ireland will also announce new investments into the UK worth £185.5 million, which the UK government say could create more than 2,500 jobs across the country.

Ahead of the meeting, Martin paid tribute to the prime minister for "his leadership over the last while".

"He has been effective and impactful, we all want peace - there are too many wars in the world," he told reporters.

Meanwhile, Sir Keir said: "We can do much more when we work together with others and as I've said before, I don't believe that the relationship between the UK and Ireland has ever reached its full potential and I'm delighted that now, with this summit, we're going to change all of that. What an opportunity."

Reuters Left to right: Micheál Martin is smiling from a seated position at Keir Starmer who is standing and smiling at a woman wearing red who is seated to his left with blond hair to her shoulders with her face turned towards him and away from the camera. Behind Keir, standing is Luc Frieden who is also smiling. Behind the four of them, is a regal looking gold frame with an autumnal coloured pastel painting. Micheál Martin is wearing a navy suit, white shirt and blue tie. He has short dark grey hair. Luc Frieden is wearing a navy suit, white shirt and navy tie. He has a bald head with short hair on either side and is wearing black square glasses. Keir Starmer is wearing a navy suit, white shirt and teal blue tie. He has grey hair brushed to the right and black glasses. All three of the men are wearing a yellow badge on their suit jackets. Reuters
The Taoiseach, Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden and Prime Minister, Keir Starmer attended the EU leaders' informal retreat at the Palais d'Egmont in Brussels last month

'What an opportunity'

Asked if he would stand his ground with President Trump at events in Washington DC for St Patrick's Day next week, the taoiseach said his focus for now was the British-Irish relationship and that the Irish-US relationship remained important.

He also said he did not agree with comments by First Minister Michelle O'Neill after she said she was "incredulous" at the UK Government's decision to spend up to £1.6bn on defence missiles for Ukraine.

"I wouldn't agree with the first minister - no one likes the utilisation of weapons and all my life I've been on the peace side of the equation," he said.

"We don't live in an ideal world, one has to have capability to defend your country.

"But it's Russia who illegally invaded Ukraine, that's the reality... Europe needs to improve and enhance its capability in order to have a deterrence to avoid any encroachment on a member of the EU."

Sir Keir has previously expressed the importance of "resetting relation" between the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Last September, he became the first British prime minister to visit the Republic of Ireland in five years.

Downing Street said the visit marked a "new era of co-operation and friendship" between Britain and Ireland.

The summit is expected to finish by mid morning on Thursday as the taoiseach is attending a special European Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday afternoon.