British prime minister Keir Starmer, has promised a “new era” of co-operation with the Republic, as he opened a summit between the two governments on Thursday morning.
“We have turned the page on the turbulent years of [the recent UK-Ireland relationship],” said Mr Starmer, as he laid out an agenda covering economic co-operation, domestic and international security and climate change.
In his opening remarks at the start of the summit, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, said the meeting – at a hotel near Ellesmere Port in the Cheshire countryside, near Liverpool – was “the most extensive summit in a generation” between the two states.
He also paid tribute to Mr Starmer for his recent diplomacy with the US over Ukraine and European security.
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“The economy and security are inextricably linked. You cannot have a thriving prosperous economy without the security that underpins it,” he said.
The meeting is the inaugural UK-Ireland Summit, which will be held annually from now on and was first mooted when then taoiseach Simon Harris met Mr Starmer at his Chequers retreat last July shortly after the UK Labour leader won a landslide election victory.
The centrepiece of the summit is a 90-minute head-to-head between the two governments, with each side represented by five cabinet members. In addition to the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, the Irish side included Minister for Transport, Climate and Environment Darragh O’Brien; Minister for Education Helen McEntee; and Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan.
Their opposite numbers on the British side included the prime minister and his deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner; home secretary Yvette Cooper; Ed Miliband, secretary of state for energy security; and Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland Secretary.
Formal proceedings kicked off on Wednesday evening with a cultural reception hosted by the British Government in Liverpool, attended by senior figures from the Irish community and Britain and from cultural and sporting organisations in Ireland.
Attendees at the event included Kevin Bakhurst, the director general of RTÉ; David Courell, the chief executive of the Football Association of Ireland; and Don O’Sullivan, the Cork-born chief executive of Battersea Power Station.
This event was followed by a private dinner in Liverpool city centre between the Taoiseach and prime minister. They also attended a business breakfast on Thursday morning in the city before arriving at the hotel for the formal plenary session involving all the ministers.
While the economic co-operation was originally intended to be the main focus of the event – the British side announced up to £185 million of investment in the UK by Irish companies – it was clear from both leaders’ opening remarks that Ukraine crisis had driven security up the agenda.
“The world is more uncertain and unstable,” said Mr Starmer. “The need for a strong and settled relationship between UK and Ireland has never been greater. The world has changed dramatically since the [two countries] last set out a vision for the relationship, back in 2012.”
Mr Martin said the two countries needed to work more closely together on maritime security, to protect subsea cables and gas interconnectors in the Irish and Celtic seas.
“We have a lot of work to do,” said the Taoiseach. “[But] in the context of all the turbulence around the world, the UK and Ireland is seen as a haven for investment.”
As the Taoiseach prepared to head off after the summit to Brussels for a crucial meeting European leaders on defence, the UK prime minister also highlighted that a closer relationship with the Republic would help the UK build a stronger alliance with the European Union.
