British Labour leader Keir Starmer to visit Dublin and Belfast

Brexit and Ukraine likely to top the agenda on visit during which Mr Starmer will meet Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Labour leader Ivana Bacik

Wed, 08 Jun, 2022 - 17:32

Daniel McConnell, Political Editor

The leader of the British Labour Party, Keir Starmer, will be in Dublin on Thursday to meet with senior political figures from across the floor of the Dáil including Taoiseach Micheál Martin.

Mr Starmer is on a whistlestop tour to Dublin before heading on up to Belfast for meetings with parties there.

It is believed that Mr Starmer will meet with the Taoiseach in Government Buildings and will be given the full diplomatic treatment, even though he is not a head of state.

In light of the current impasse in Belfast, sources have indicated the controversial Northern Ireland protocol will dominate the meeting’s agenda.

Mr Starmer is said to have also requested to meet with Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and that request has been approved.

The meeting will take place at the Department of Finance and, as Mr Donohoe is also president of the Eurogroup of finance ministers, matters such as Brexit and trade are set to dominate the agenda, as is the war in Ukraine.

Mr Starmer is also due to meet with Labour leader Ivana Bacik around 1.30pm in Leinster House and sources have indicated a joint statement from both leaders will be issued.

Mr Starmer, who is the MP for Holborn and St Pancras in London, has placed a high importance on Anglo-Irish relations since becoming leader of the British Labour Party.

Mr Starmer said despite the "twists and turns" of Brexit, its fallout and the current issue of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the two countries maintain a close and important partnership.

He said the two governments must be co-guarantors to the Good Friday Agreement, and that that the "relationship requires respect and understanding of what it means to be a country and to have that status."