Neale Richmond
Question:262. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs when he will continue his engagement with the new leaders of the two major Unionist parties in Northern Ireland. [27648/21]
View answerThursday, 24 June 2021
Questions (262)
Written answers
The Taoiseach and I continue to engage with all the parties in Northern Ireland, including the DUP and UUP.
We have of course seen some dramatic political developments over the last few days in Northern Ireland. I wish Edwin Poots well on a personal level following his announcement that he has stepped down as party leader, and I have congratulated Sir Jeffrey Donaldson as the new leader of the DUP. I have also had a substantive meeting by video conference with Doug Beattie since his election as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party.
The Taoiseach and I look forward to working with both leaders in their new roles.
In any scenario we will of course continue to seek to have a good and constructive relationship with the DUP, the UUP and all the parties in the Northern Ireland Executive.
We also recognise that there are concerns in unionism around the Protocol and that this has affected and put strain on relationships.
We will always engage and listen to those concerns and we will continue to seek to address them through the Protocol itself – a solution, a hard-won compromise, that provides stability, legal certainty and flexibility and is subject to democratic consent.
There are many shared challenges and important issues facing us all, including on Covid and on other issues including addressing legacy cases from the conflict, and the implementation of the commitments in the New Decade, New Approach agreement and previous agreements.
We look forward to continued engagement with counterparts from the Northern Ireland Executive, including through the North South Ministerial Council. A successful meeting of the British Irish Council was also held this month, where economic recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic was central to the discussion.
I sincerely hope that we can deepen the dialogue and co-operation we have across all these issues and the shared challenges we face.