Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 to 24, inclusive, together.

The return of the power-sharing Executive and the Northern Ireland Assembly is hugely welcome. I was very pleased to travel to Stormont on 5 February to meet the new First and deputy First Ministers and other members of the Executive Committee of Ministers. While in Belfast, I met the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. I acknowledged his efforts and those of his team in concluding the talks to achieve restoration. We discussed and agreed on the importance of ensuring all strands of the Good Friday Agreement are functioning fully and to the benefit of all. We had spoken by phone on 30 January about the prospects at that time of the restoration of the power-sharing institutions in Northern Ireland and touched on the interstate case Ireland has taken to the European Court of Human Rights concerning the UK legacy Act of 2023. We acknowledged our differences on this issue but welcomed the ongoing strength of our bilateral relationships in other areas.

In my meeting with the new First and deputy First Ministers, I confirmed that the Government was keen to work with them and further North–South co-operation wherever possible and practical. I also met the Executive as a whole. I congratulated it and stressed the Government's desire for its work to be successful.

A common theme across the meetings was the importance of communication, building relationships across the island and the benefits of working together in areas of concern.

I was also very pleased to be welcomed to Parliament Buildings by the new Speaker, Edwin Poots, and to take the opportunity to meet members of the SDLP, which has assumed the role of official opposition within the assembly.

The Government will engage proactively and constructively with the institutions, and I look forward to seeing the positive results of restoration for the people of Northern Ireland. I look forward to an early meeting of the North–South Ministerial Council. I also look forward to the next British–Irish Council Summit, which will be hosted by the Isle of Man and is due to take place in June.

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