Taoiseach insists President Biden 'understands the North'

President Biden urged Boris Johnson not to let the Northern Protocol threaten peace on the island of Ireland. Photo: AP/Evan Vucci

The Taoiseach says that anyone who thinks US President Joe Biden doesn't understand Northern Ireland "is wrong".

Speaking in New York on Wednesday, Micheál Martin said that concerns from members of the UK Government about President Biden's intervention on the Northern Protocol during a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson were misplaced.

"Anybody who suggests that President Biden doesn't get Northern Ireland, or understand it is wrong. He understands it very well. And our team in Washington has consistently used every opportunity to appraise the American administration of the importance of the UK-EU trade agreement and the role the protocol has within that agreement, and also that the European Union is in solution mode in respect of this and wants to resolve this."

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Mr Martin said he believes the ongoing issues with the protocol could be resolved if the political will exists in the North.

Speaking at a Washington DC meeting between the two, President Biden urged Mr Johnson not to let the Northern Protocol threaten peace on the island of Ireland.

"We spent an enormous amount of time and effort in the United States. It was a major partisan effort, and I would not like to see – nor would many of my Republican colleagues – a change in the Irish accord, the end result having a closed border in Ireland."

Afterwards, Mr Johnson said that the two hadn't discussed the workings of the protocol, but his Environment Secretary George Eustice told Sky News that Mr Biden's understanding of the North was based on "reading the headlines".

The Taoiseach said he was not concerned that Northern Ireland is not discussed at the top level by the UK Government. He said that the Biden Administration takes the issue seriously and the peace process was a "success story" for successive American governments.

Asked if he was concerned that alleged poor treatment of staff by Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) management and lack of adequate cover caused by roster changes could hamper the recovery of the aviation sector as travel to the US reopens, Mr Martin said that ministers will engage and review a letter sent by controllers.

"Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan and Hildegarde Naughton will engage with air traffic controllers. Anything that pertains to safety, the Government takes very seriously and we will examine the issues which have been put forward."

On rents, Mr Martin said that increasing supply is key, but offered no immediate commitments to solve the student accommodation crisis. He said that a number of issues would be considered in next month's Budget.

"This is a real crisis for young people. But we can't solve it overnight. The whole country needs to be focused on getting it sorted. I'm not going to go into the specifics of the budget this week but we'll be looking at a range of issues that are putting pressure on people and work out how we can solve that.

"Right now, it is a very serious issue and the Minister for Housing is working with the Minister for Higher Education on what we can do in the short-term. It is challenging and we acknowledge that there are limits to what we can do, but we will try to do everything we can."

The Taoiseach also confirmed that Ireland will increase its aid contributions in next month's Budget above the 0.3% of GDP it is currently at.