Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 29 to 38, inclusive, together.

On 10 April I spoke by phone to the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. We each acknowledged the depth and the breadth of the British-Irish relationship and the value we attach to it. We discussed the positive leadership which the First Minister and deputy First Minister have shown since their appointment in February. We also discussed Ukraine and the urgency of the situation in Gaza. I look forward to meeting with Prime Minister Sunak at the European political community meeting he will host in July.

Later that day, I also spoke by phone to the First Minister and the deputy First Minister. That day, 10 April, marked the anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. I underlined the importance I attach to the role of the two Governments as co-guarantors of the agreement. I signalled my commitment to fulfilling my co-guarantor role in a positive spirit and to the full. We also discussed the meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council which had taken place in County Armagh two days earlier and the opportunity now, with the restoration of the Executive and the assembly, to intensify North-South co-operation in areas such as healthcare, tourism, infrastructure and innovation.

I was also pleased to visit Belfast last Friday, 3 May. I had a very constructive meeting with the First Minister and deputy First Minister in Stormont Castle, and I thank them for their time. We discussed a range of topics, including their budget, migration, opportunities for North-South co-operation, student mobility and existing shared island funding commitments, including for the A5 and the Ulster University Magee campus.

Following that meeting I was welcomed to Parliament Buildings in Stormont by Speaker, Edwin Poots, where I also had meetings with each of the other party leaders: Naomi Long, Doug Beattie and Colum Eastwood. These meetings were useful and productive, covering the Northern Ireland budget, legacy and the shared island youth forum.

On 15 April I was also very pleased to address the 66th plenary meeting of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, which took place in my home county of Wicklow on the theme of tourism. In my remarks to the assembly, I noted how, across our islands, we are fortunate to enjoy a strong tourism offering which is a major driver of growth, employment and regional development. I also more generally reaffirmed the Government's commitment to working to see relationships throughout these islands prosper further.

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