TÁNAISTE MICHÉAL MARTIN has said he is optimistic about the future of Northern Ireland but that there’s no place for complacency.

He was speaking at the British Irish Association Conference in Oxford, England.

He urged people not to take the Good Friday Agreement for granted.

Acknowledging the rioting in Belfast last month, he said there is “no perfect solution” to violence in Northern Ireland, but that the Troubles Legacy Act is not fit for purpose.

The controversial Act came into effect on 1 May.

A Commission took over the role of investigating hundreds of unresolved legacy deaths and cases of serious harm which happened before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

The PSNI no longer has responsibility for investigating unsolved crimes relating to the Troubles. 

Taoiseach Simon Harris said the government will not immediately drop its legal case against the UK government over the Act following Labour’s general election victory. 

Speaking today, the Tánaiste said that the relationship between Ireland and the UK has been tested in recent years. 

“Brexit shook the foundations of established relationships and ways of working. Its implementation and outworkings created new fault lines in a society that did not need more causes of division.

“We ultimately managed to navigate all of that complexity – and are still doing so – in a way that maintained the principles and the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement and that safeguarded the interests of the people of Northern Ireland.”

Despite this, he said, unilateral decisions by the previous British government made partnership and reconciliation difficult. 

“Throughout the eight years since Brexit, the devolved institutions have been in abeyance for more time than they have been up and running,” said Martin.

There is absolutely no room for complacency about that; not in Northern Ireland, not anywhere across these islands.

“I’ve said before that I believe that the public in Northern Ireland would have zero tolerance for another cycle of suspension, disenfranchisement and political torpor,” he said.

“In my view, that means having honest conversations about the practical functioning and management of the institutions. You can call that reform; you can call it political stability; you can call it whatever you want – what’s important is that it is tangible and impactful.”

Harris and his British counterpart Keir Starmer are to meet and attend the Ireland V England UEFA Nations’ League match at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin together later today.

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