NI Protocol: UK-Irish relations have improved significantly - Irish PM

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and the UK's Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove at the British-Irish Council

UK and Irish government relations have "improved significantly" in recent weeks, Micheál Martin has said.

The taoiseach (Irish prime minister) made the comments at the end of the latest British-Irish Council summit.

On Thursday, he met UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for the first time, with both leaders saying a "breakthrough" on the NI Protocol is possible.

Mr Martin said there was a "window of opportunity" but declined to be drawn on how long negotiations could last.

He said the decision to extend the deadline for forming a Stormont executive into 2023, and delaying the legal requirement for an assembly election had been helpful.

Mr Sunak was the first prime minister to attend a meeting of the British-Irish Council, held this time in Blackpool, since 2007, and the first ever Conservative PM to take part.

After his meeting with the taoiseach he was confident that "with goodwill and pragmatism" a breakthrough can happen on the protocol.

• What is the Northern Ireland Protocol?

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney had previously criticised the approach of the UK government to the protocol during Boris Johnson and Liz Truss's premierships, saying it had badly fractured Anglo-Irish relations.

Asked to sum up how he viewed the relationship now, Mr Martin said things had improved greatly.

"A week is a long time in politics, months can be an eternity," he added.

He said that he did not "understate the difficulties" in reaching a deal that would have the support of all parties in Northern Ireland and that he appreciated the concerns expressed by the Democratic Unionist Party.

Micheál Martin and Rishi Sunak met in Blackpool where the council summit is being held

The DUP has blocked the formation of an executive and assembly in Northern Ireland in its protest against the protocol.

The post-Brexit trading mechanism allows free trade to continue across the Irish land border, but it has also added some new checks to goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove, who chaired the council summit, said it was disappointing that no Stormont ministers were able to attend.

The political deadlock means there are no executive ministers in place, meaning the only representative from Northern Ireland at the summit was Jayne Brady, the head of the civil service.

Mr Gove said he hoped that by the time the next meeting happens in summer 2023, a first and deputy first minister will be attending from Northern Ireland.

Mr Martin added that he wants to see a deal between the UK and EU "as soon as possible".

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said his party had been patient and a negotiated outcome was the "only basis for Stormont's power-sharing arrangements to prosper".

The British-Irish council is made up of representatives from the UK and Irish governments, the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the governments of the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.

It was created two decades ago as a result of the Good Friday peace agreement.