Taoiseach Micheál Martin travels to England for a United Kingdom-Ireland summit with British prime minister Keir Starmer today.
The summit, which will take place in the North West of England over two days, is the first of a new series of summits, to renew the relationship between both States after a decade of cool relationships with Tory governments in the wake of Brexit.
There will be a lot to talk about besides increased co-operation between Ireland and the UK, not least the global impact of the Trump administration on the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as its threats of 25 per cent tariffs on the EU and the UK.
The Irish delegation includes Tánaiste Simon Harris, Minister for Education Helen McEntee, Minister for Climate, Environment, Energy and Transport, Darragh O’Brien and Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan.
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It comes amid another flurry of developments overnight, all stemming from the impact of the whirlwind that has been the first six weeks of the Trump presidency. The US President gave his first State of the Union address last night to the Joint Houses of Congress, both controlled by republicans.
Typically it was the longest address given by a President in modern times, running to one hour and 40 minutes. While he said there would be a “disturbance” because of tariffs, there was plenty of self-praise. It was the most successful start to a presidency in history, he said with typical modesty. He also attacked “woke ideology” and transgender athletes, said he would rescue the economy and praised Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency for saving trillions of dollars.
He also read sections of a supplicant letter from Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy saying he was willing to accept a partial truce and do a deal over precious earth minerals in his country under Trump’s “strong leadership”. The schadenfreude came only days after the public humiliation of Mr Zelenskiy in the Oval Office.
Daniel McLaughlin in Kyiv reports on the details of that proposed deal in the lead story this morning.
Army’s Ranger Wing can be deployed to protect Irish Embassy officials in Kyiv
The Cabinet yesterday approved the end of the Triple Lock. One aspect of that Cabinet memo, highlighted by us in recent days, was a related decision to increase the number of military personnel allowed to travel on a mission overseas without triggering the mechanism from 12 to 50.
Once the legislation is passed, the increase will allow members of the Defence Forces to be deployed at the Irish Embassy in Kyiv to provide close protection to diplomatic staff who will be based there.
Conor Gallagher reports that the Government received legal advice that until now there was no specific legislative provision for the deployment of Irish troops on protection duties. This is despite Irish soldiers being sent on several similar missions in the past.
Doherty defends the attendance of senior Sinn Féin figures at Brendan ‘Bik’ McFarlane’s funeral
Another funeral of a former IRA member had drawn criticism of the Sinn Féin leadership. Brendan ‘Bik’ McFarlane was convicted for an attack in the 1970s that left five people dead and was the head of an IRA gang which kidnapped businessman Don Tidey and murdered a Garda and a member of the Irish Defence Forces.
Pearse Doherty and Matt Doherty were among those who attended the funeral. Former justice minister Charlie Flanagan has been among those who have fiercely criticised the decision, given the deaths of two serving members of the defence and security forces of the State. Yesterday, Mr Doherty defended his attendance at the funeral, as Cormac McQuinn and Ronan McGreevy report.
“I know he used his influence within republicans to encourage others to buy into the peace process,” said Mr Doherty.
“And I think it’s really important that people have the right to remember their dead,” he said.
“So I attended, as anybody would do, if you knew somebody, to pay your respects to the family, to somebody who you knew.”
Left parties seek a new Mary Robinson-type consensus candidate
The left-wing parties will meet today to see if they can find consensus on a suitable candidate for the presidency, Jack Horgan-Jones reports.
When initially mooted by Labour leader Ivana Bacik the initiative was confined to the three social democrat parties but now Sinn Féin and People Before Profit have also become involved.
The names that have cropped up are Independent Senator Frances Black and Galway West TD Catherine Connolly, as well as SDLP’s Claire Hanna and former Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall.
Simon Harris has long phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
The Tánaiste Simon Harris yesterday had his first long telephone conversation with the new US Secretary of State.
The phone call, described as being “longer than expected”, touched on a “wide range of issues”, including the bilateral relationship between the US and Ireland and global crises including Ukraine and the Middle East, according to a statement released by Mr Harris’s spokesman afterwards.
Best Reads
Miriam Lord replays the Trump-Vance-Zelenskiy spat from last Friday but this time in the Dáil featuring the Government and the Opposition. And the world topic chosen for such a meltdown? You’ve guessed it: Dáil speaking rights.
A little taste of the prose: “Just who does Paul Murphy think he is? And why didn’t he wear a suit for Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil on Tuesday? Does he possess a suit?”
In advance of the summit in the UK today, Mark Hennessy writes it will take time to repair the damage to Anglo-Irish relations that has happened since Brexit.
A background piece on the impact that Trump’s next round of tariffs could have on Ireland.
Playbook
Dáil
10.00: Private Members’ Business (Independent Technical Group): Motion re Addressing Government Waste and Oversight in Public Expenditure
12.00: Leaders’ Questions (Sinn Féin, Labour Party, Social Democrats, Independent Technical Group)
14.04: Statements re Policing and Community Safety
15.36: Statements on the Irish Language to mark Seachtain na Gaeilge
18.01: Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2023 – Committee and remaining Stages
20.31: Deferred Divisions
21.01: Dáil adjourns
Seanad
10.30: Commencement Matters
13:00: Statements on the Diaspora (Department of Foreign Affairs)
15.00: Statements on Women’s Health to Mark International Women’s Day 2025
(Department of Health)
16.45: Private Members’ Business. Motion on Care, Supports and Enhanced Provision of Services for Older People
18:45: Seanad adjourns
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