Tánaiste Simon Harris to visit Belfast

The Tánaiste Simon Harris is meeting with political leaders in Belfast today.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs will meet with Northern Ireland’s First Minister, Michelle O’Neill MLA, and deputy First Minister, Emma Little-Pengelly MLA.

He will also meet with the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Edwin Poots MLA, as well as the leader of the SDLP, Claire Hanna MP, and the leader of the Alliance Party and Northern Ireland Minister for Justice, Naomi Long MLA.

Speaking ahead of the visit, the Tánaiste said:

"Upon being confirmed in my role as Minister for Foreign Affairs, an early visit to Belfast was a top priority for me.

"Last Friday, I spoke with the First and deputy First Ministers as well as the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. I wanted to ensure that there was an early engagement with the the First and deputy First Minister as well as party leaders before I meet with the Secretary of State which I intend to do shortly.

"It is important to take time for discussions with them, as well as with other political leaders. Having just finalised our Programme for Government in recent weeks and with the Northern Ireland Executive are close to finalising theirs, we have much we can do together, including through the North South Ministerial Council and the Shared Island initiative.

"While this is my first visit in this new role, I visited Northern Ireland on a number of occasions as Taoiseach last year and intend to be a regular visitor in the time ahead. In the weeks to come I am determined to hear from a range of voices from across Northern Ireland, community voices, civic voice and business voices, as well as political leaders.

"Importantly, I want to hear from victims and survivors of the violence on the Troubles, and their families and representatives, as we try to navigate a better way to deal with the legacy of the past.”