LAST UPDATE | 10 Nov 2022

TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN has met UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the British-Irish Council Summit in Blackpool this evening.

Sunak is to become the first UK prime minister to attend a British-Irish Council meeting in 15 years.

Gordon Brown was the last prime minister to attend in 2007.

The meeting comes as Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris announced that he is to extend the deadline for calling a fresh Stormont election by six weeks. 

He will leave the option open to extend it by a further six weeks, and also to cut the pay of Assembly members.

It means the current 19 January deadline will be further extended and, assuming this second extension is not availed of, an election would need to take place before 2 March.

Speaking this morning, Heaton-Harris said he believes there is a “fairly obvious landing zone for the negotiations” with the EU on the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Heaton-Harris said: “I too believe, and indeed I thought when I left the Foreign Office back in February, that there was a fairly obvious landing zone for the negotiations.

“And I very much hope and believe that is the case today. I think everything can be sorted out by negotiations, but we do have legislation which we will use if not.”

Answering a question about speaking with representatives of the political parties in Northern Ireland about the issue, the Secretary of State said: “I will be talking to everybody as I move forward.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has said that a deal between the EU and the UK over Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements is “doable” by the end of the year. 

The attendance of Sunak is being warmly welcomed by officials, with hopes that it could signify that progress could in fact be made in the coming weeks. Getting a deal done on the Protocol would be a good win for Sunak who is only fresh in the job.

Martin and Sunak briefly spoke with each other at the COP Summit this week, but today’s meeting was expected to be more comprehensive and was scheduled for up to 30 minutes. 

It is anticipated that discussions  today will focus on the importance of making progress in the negotiations between the UK and the EU on the Northern Ireland Protocol, as well as cover political developments in Northern Ireland and the bilateral British-Irish relationships.

Those in Government circles said there has been a “welcome change of tone” in both Anglo-Irish relations and EU- British relations.

It is hoped with more collegial engagement a deal on the Protocol can be reached and the stalemate in Northern Ireland can end. 

A Government spokesperson said there are a lot of important issues that Ireland and the UK must work together on, adding that the trade relationship between the two countries is also paramount. 

They said that Martin has had a good relationship with all UK prime ministers and that will continue with Sunak.

The council meeting, which is taking place over the next two days, will be chaired by the UK Minister for Intergovernmental Relations Michael Gove MP.

The theme of the meeting is sustainable growth and regeneration.

Membership of the British-Irish Council comprises representatives of the Irish and UK governments, Northern Ireland Executive, Scotland, Wales, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, and Jersey.

The Council was created under the Good Friday Agreement with an objective to promote positive, practical relationships among all members. 

Over the two days, the Taoiseach will also attend business and enterprise meetings as well as a community event to honour the Irish diaspora in the North of England. 

In advance of the British-Irish Council Summit, Martin travelled to Manchester and meet with the Mayor of Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram and Manchester Greater Authority Mayor Andy Burnham.

At events this afternoon, the Taoiseach also met with Irish former professional footballer, Denis Irwin.

He will also review a showcase of Irish companies active in the region, supported by Enterprise Ireland, before attending a community reception.

Political Correspondent Christina Finn will be reporting from the British-Irish Council meeting in Blackpool over the next two days.