Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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24. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of times he has met with his British counterpart since he took office. [27026/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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In my capacity as Minister for Foreign Affairs, I have met in-person with the British Foreign Secretary on three occasions.

The Deputy will be aware that this position was held by the Home Secretary James Cleverly from September 2022 to November 2023. The then Foreign Secretary and I first met in-person at the Munich Security Conference in February 2023, following a call earlier that month. At that time, we discussed finding agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol, developments in Northern Ireland and international challenges.

I met bilaterally with Foreign Secretary Cleverly again when I visited London in June 2023 for the Ukraine Recovery Conference. Our discussions focused primarily on agreement on the Windsor Framework and matters relating to Northern Ireland, including the importance of the restoration of the Executive and the Assembly. We also shared perspectives on a wide range of foreign policy issues.

In mid-December 2023, I travelled to London to meet with David Cameron following his appointment as Foreign Secretary in November. We discussed the importance of the relationship between Ireland and Britain. We had a good exchange on developments in Northern Ireland, including a discussion regarding the UK's Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act. We shared views on several pressing foreign policy matters, including the international community's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza. This latter point was particularly salient as both of us had recently visited the Middle East region. We also discussed our respective international development programmes.

In addition to meetings with my British foreign affairs counterpart, I have also met regularly with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris. This has included bilateral engagements, as well as meetings through the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference and the British Irish Council - both institutions under Strand III of the Good Friday Agreement.

The relationship between Ireland and Britain remains deeply important. I am conscious that a general election in the UK will take place on 4 July. Given the importance of the bilateral relationship between our two countries, I look forward to working closely with the next British Foreign Secretary and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in a spirit of friendship and partnership.