LAST UPDATE | 7 Sep

TAOISEACH SIMON HARRIS and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer have released a joint statement following their meeting today in Farmleigh House, where they discussed the relationship between Ireland and the UK and agreed to take the relationship to a “new level”.

According to their statement, the leaders have agreed that to take the Ireland-UK relationship to a new level and to deliver on that promise, “the first of a new series of annual leader-level UK-Ireland summits would take place in March 2025.”

The leaders discussed the “importance of their responsibilities as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement”, as well as their shared ambition for greater opportunity, economic prosperity and reconciliation across Ireland and the United Kingdom, to include and benefit Northern Ireland.

They agreed that the summits would focus on four key areas of cooperation: security, justice and global issues; climate, energy, technology and innovation; growth, trade and investment; and culture, education and people to people connections. 

The statement added that both Harris and Starmer “look forward to seeing each other again in New York at the UN General Assembly, and at the British-Irish Council in Edinburgh this December.”

In a joint article in the Irish Times this morning, the two leaders said they wanted relations between their countries to go from “friction to friendship”.

“When political challenges overshadow human connections, everyone loses. As Taoiseach and prime minister, we will not let that happen again,” they said.

“That’s why it’s important to say that we are more than just trading partners and neighbours. We are friends.”

The two leaders’ meetings, today’s being the second since Starmer’s election in July, is viewed as a turning point in Anglo-Irish relations in recent years. Labour’s commitment to the Good Friday Agreement and openness to replacing the Troubles Legacy Act has been welcomed by Tánaiste Micheál Martin – but he has urged people not to become complacent as he stressed the importance of the Good Friday Agreement.