Simon Harris and Keir Starmer meet today in effort to ‘reset’ British-Irish relations

Both now see an opportunity to strengthen relations between Ireland and Britain following years of rancour during Brexit negotiations

Newly elected British prime minister Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria Starmer are applauded by staff at 10 Downing Street as they arrived after the British Labour Party won a landslide victory in the 2024 general election. 

Taoiseach Simon Harris will meet Keir Starmer, the new British prime minister, later today to discuss a reset in Anglo-Irish relations.

The two men spoke by phone on July 5 after Mr Starmer’s emphatic general election win and agreed that there was an opportunity now to strengthen relations between Ireland and Britain following years of rancour during Brexit negotiations.

It is expected that the Taoiseach and prime minister will discuss the North and international issues, including the situation in Gaza and in Ukraine.

Ahead of the meeting at the prime minister’s country home Chequers, the Taoiseach said the invite is a “strong signal of the value he [Keir Starmer] attaches to the friendship and closeness that saw our two countries achieve so much together in the past, and to resetting the relationship so that we can again achieve much together in the time ahead”.

British prime minister Keir Starmer, right, with Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn, First Minister Michelle O'Neill, and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly at Stormont Castle shortly after British Labour won the 2024 UK general election. Picture: Niall Carson/PA

“I look forward to getting to know the prime minister and to conveying to him the broad welcome across Government, and more widely across Ireland, to a reset in relations with the United Kingdom at this time,” Mr Harris said.

“I am fully committed to a stronger, mutually respectful and ambitious partnership between both countries, and to getting down to work to make this happen.”

Mr Harris will tomorrow take part in a meeting of the European Political Community at Blenheim Palace.

Meanwhile, at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, Jack Chambers, the finance minister, got approval for a committee stage amendment to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2023.

During the second stage debate on this bill in February 2024, an issue was raised about certain consumers not being able to make complaints to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO).

This includes mortgage holders who had their loans sold to unregulated non-banks before July 2015 and before new legislation came into effect to regulate credit servicing in January 2019.

Currently the FSPO can deal with complaints against credit servicers after they became authorised entities but it cannot look at complaints made against financial service providers before they were subject to regulation. This proposed amendment seeks to close this gap.

Also at Cabinet, Helen McEntee, the justic minister, noted that a competition would be launched by the end of July for the recruitment of a deputy Garda Commissioner through the Public Appointment Service.