Sunak and Varadkar phone call: Northern Ireland protocol, Ukraine and Troubles amnesty discussed

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar spoke by telephone to the British prime minister Rishi Sunak on Monday afternoon, in their first conversation since Mr Varadkar became Taoiseach in mid-December.

The two men discussed a variety of topics, according to a statement released by the Government, including the Northern Ireland protocol, the war in Ukraine and the Irish objections to proposed British legislation which offers an amnesty to people suspected of crimes during the Troubles.

The Government Buildings statement said the two men held “a good conversation by telephone this afternoon”.

“They discussed a range of issues including restoring the democratic Institutions in Northern Ireland, the ongoing EU-UK negotiations on the Protocol, and British-Irish relations more broadly,” it said.

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The Government said that the Taoiseach had “repeated the need for a solution which avoids a hard border on the island of Ireland and protects the integrity of the single market.

“They spoke about the positive co-operation between the EU, UK and US in responding to the war on Ukraine, and the Taoiseach recognised the UK’s leadership role on the matter.

“Finally, the Taoiseach reiterated our concerns about the UK’s Legacy legislation and the impact of the proposed introduction of Electronic Travel Authorisation on third country nations travelling across the border,” the statement said.

The Downing Street readout of the call noted that the two men had “reflected on the close relationship between the UK and Ireland, and the Prime Minister said it was clear both nations were highly aligned when it came to shared values and challenges.”

Relations between Dublin and London have improved significantly since Mr Sunak took over from Liz Truss in Downing St, while the Anglo-Irish relationship chilled substantially under Ms Truss’s predecessor, Boris Johnson.

Nonetheless, there has been some raised eyebrows at the length of time taken to arrange a call between the Taoiseach and the UK prime minister. Last week, however, other ministers, including the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, met various British ministers – including Northern Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris – in Dublin.

The British Government is currently engaged in intensive talks with the European Commission over possible changes to the way the Northern Ireland protocol operates, a process that the Irish Government is watching closely.

Both Dublin and London hope that a new deal on the protocol – which does not change its text but substantial relaxes its operation, leading to a big reduction in checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK – will be accepted by the DUP and result in a restoration of the powersharing institutions.

Dublin is especially keen to have the institutions up and running by April, which sees the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

Earlier, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said that the leaders of the Northern parties must grasp the opportunity to restore the institutions if there is a deal on the protocol between the EU and the UK government. Negotiations are continuing between Brussels and London, with hopes – but not yet a hard expectation – that a deal can be concluded in the coming weeks.