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Premiers to tackle cost-of-living and security at UK-Ireland summit

Gabija GataveckaiteDublin correspondent, BBC News NI
News imageReuters Sir Keir Starmer, man with grey hair, glasses, dark suit claret tie. Micheal Martin, man with grey hair, blue jacket, white shirt blue tie.Reuters
The second UK-Ireland Summit is being held in Cork

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin will attend the second UK-Ireland summit in Cork on Friday with a delegation of government ministers from both sides.

Topics on the agenda include how the UK and Ireland can work together to address cost-of-living challenges as well as strengthen domestic security and manage crises, BBC News NI understands.

It comes a day after Sir Keir announced £937m in Irish investment into the UK, which will create about 850 new jobs.

This includes an energy connector project between Northern Ireland and Ireland, which the UK government said will help bring down electricity costs on both sides of the border.

A separate energy connector will connect Wales and Ireland and provide enough power for 570,000 homes.

"The UK's close friendship with Ireland is going from strength to strength and I am pleased that we are going further in working together on growth, energy, security and more," said Sir Keir.

"This new Irish investment coming into the UK is one part of a much bigger picture of our flourishing cultural, commercial and security ties."

The first annual UK-Ireland summit took place last year in Liverpool.

Annual summits between the two countries were agreed as part of a "reset" in the relationship between the UK and Ireland shortly after Sir Keir became prime minister.

News imageBrian Lawless/PA Micheal Martin, a man with grey hair, a black coat, and blue tie and Sir Keir Starmer, a man with grey hair, glasses, grey suit and claret tie at the airport in Cork.Brian Lawless/PA
On Thursday evening, Sir Keir Starmer was greeted by Taoiseach (Irish PM) Micheál Martin at Cork Airport

The summit will also hear discussions on how the two countries should work together up to 2030.

The day before he travelled to Cork, leaders from across Northern Ireland's political parties met Sir Keir on Thursday morning in Belfast.

Speaking at a women's centre near Belfast, Sir Keir said talks with politicians were focused on ensuring that money allocated in the Autumn Budget to help with electricity costs would be made available "as quickly as possible".

On Thursday night, he met business leaders and was joined by Martin as well as the Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee and the UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Peter Kyle.

He also met young people from the Ireland-UK youth forum advisory group to hear the views of young people.

He then attended a cultural event at Cork City Hall, where there were protesters holding Iran and Palestinian flags.

News imagePA Sir Keir Starmer, man with grey hair, wearing glasses, dark suit, blue shirt, claret tie. Micheal Martin, on right, a man with grey hair, dark suit, white shirt, blue tie.PA
Sir Keir Starmer said the UK's friendship with Ireland is "going from strength to strength"