Taoiseach ‘likely’ to address MSPs

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is likely to address members of the Scottish Parliament when he pays an official visit to Scotland in June, it was confirmed today.

Details of his visit to Scotland are still being finalised but an announcement is likely soon, said Ireland’s consul general in Edinburgh, Dan Mulhall.

‘‘Final arrangements are not yet in place, but we are working towards a visit in June and we hope to make an announcement fairly soon,’’ he said.

The visit follows the debacle in February when the Taoiseach had to call off a private visit to Scotland to unveil a monument to victims of the Irish famine at Carfin in Lanarkshire.

That was called off after Frank Roy, a Lanarkshire MP and at the time the parliamentary private secretary to Scots Secretary Helen Liddell, said the timing of the visit, immediately after a Rangers-Celtic match, could cause unrest.

The visit in June is at the invitation of the Scottish Executive and the Secretary of State for Scotland, Mr Mulhall said.

During the visit Mr Ahern will address MSPs in the Scottish Parliament, probably on June 20.

A Parliament spokesman said: ‘‘As already indicated, we hope that when Mr Ahern next comes to Scotland, he will be able to visit the Parliament and address members.

‘‘We will be delighted to receive him.’’