Ireland would benefit if the UK strikes a favourable economic deal with the United States, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.
The Taoiseach said while it was “early days” regarding the prospect of such a deal, his general view was that anything that benefited the UK economy had a knock-on positive effect for Ireland.
Mr Martin was asked whether Ireland should have an input in any UK-US negotiation on an economic deal, given the trading arrangements that apply in Northern Ireland as a result of post-Brexit accords between the UK and EU.
Northern Ireland applies EU customs rules under arrangements designed to ensure an open land border on the island of Ireland.
At the close of his St Patrick’s visit to the US, the Taoiseach made clear that engagement on international trade policies was a matter for the EU, not for Ireland to act alone.
Asked whether he would be urging UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to ensure that the situation in Northern Ireland was properly factored into any deal that he might agree with US President Donald Trump, Mr Martin said the UK Government was “very conscious” of those issues.
“The situation in terms of UK-US is not clear yet,” he told reporters.
“But from the Irish point of view, I take a general view that if the UK does well, Ireland will do well economically, because that economic relationship is very important.”
Mr Martin said Ireland was also working with the EU to “facilitate and ease” post-Brexit economic barriers on trade with the UK .
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“Ireland’s relationship with Britain is still very strong economically,” the Fianna Fáil leader stated.
“It’s a very, very important market for us. And, so, if the UK economy picks up in whatever shape or form, or for whatever reason, Ireland will benefit from that.
Mr Martin also said he would not understate the importance of the recent UK-Ireland summit in Liverpool, signalling that it could pave the way for greater Anglo-Irish co-operation on off-shore wind energy production.
O’Neill not taking part in White House visit a ‘big mistake’
Meanwhile, the Taoiseach has said Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill’s boycott of Washington DC’s St Patrick’s events was a “big mistake”.
Mr Martin said the decision was “not in the best interests of the people of Northern Ireland”, pointing out that “huge efforts” were made at the beginning of the peace process to facilitate Sinn Féin.
Last month, Ms O’Neill said she could not live with a decision to travel to Washington DC while the US administration was “threatening to annex and steal” the land of the Palestinian people.
While Ms O’Neill travelled to Carolina last week for a business event, she returned home rather than attend the Washington DC events.
Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly of the DUP did travel to Washington and spoke with Mr Trump during a lunch at Capitol Hill.
The Alliance Party and SDLP also boycotted the White House events in protest at actions by the US president.
During an interview on the BBC’s Sunday Politics programme, Mr Martin was asked if he thought Ms O’Neill’s refusal to go to Washington was a missed opportunity.
“I do, I think it was a big mistake,” he said.
“I met with the deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly who was with me at the lunch on Capitol Hill, met with President Trump.
“I think it was a wrong decision because huge efforts were made at the beginning of the peace process to facilitate Sinn Féin at the time.
“A lot of people put a lot of effort into that.”
He added: “I thought it was a bit opportunistic and I think not in the best interests of the people of Northern Ireland or indeed the island of Ireland for Sinn Féin to essentially boycott Capitol Hill this year.
A Sinn Féin spokesperson responded: “The decision not to travel to the White House was not taken lightly, but taken conscious of the responsibility each of us as individuals have to call out injustice.
“We are all heartbroken as we witness the suffering of the Palestinian people and the recent comments of the US president around the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Gaza, something we cannot ignore.”
