Joe Kennedy hopes Trump will appoint new special envoy

Joe Kennedy (second from left) has been special envoy for two years

The US special envoy to Northern Ireland has said he hopes president-elect Donald Trump will appoint someone else to the role when he takes office.

Joe Kennedy was speaking on his last day as special envoy after two years in the role.

Kennedy said Trump had "warm feelings" for Ireland and expected that the "future of the island is a bright one".

Trump will be sworn into office for his second term in January 2025.

"Northern ireland can help contribute to the goals that President Trump has articulated", Kennedy told BBC News NI.

Kennedy also added that Trump, in his his prior administration, had appointed a special envoy to northern Ireland who was a "close confidant of his."

'Optimistic about the future'

Kennedy also praised the work of the first and deputy first ministers.

He said although they approached the job "with different visions and different backgrounds" they tackled "those challenges together".

He praised First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly for "standing up behind microphones together, saying that there's enough space in Northern Ireland for those different visions to call home."

"That's exactly the type of message that executives want to hear and need to hear and why they're even more interested and more optimistic about the future for Northern Ireland," he said.

"They've come an incredibly long way. I've got great confidence in the peace and what they've been able to create."

Kennedy praised the work of the first and deputy first ministers

'All the pieces are in place'

Kennedy said "all the pieces were in place" for international investment in Northern Ireland.

"What Northern Ireland needs now is some time," he said.

He said executives from the United States and all over the world were "excited" about opportunities in Northern Ireland.

He added that if businesses were going to invest in Northern Ireland, they needed to have "clarity and certainty that the future is strong and sound for decades to come".

"Northern Ireland's well on its way," he said.