TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN and UK prime minister Keir Starmer took a stroll through the gardens of Fota House, Co Cork today on the second day of the UK-Ireland summit.

The two leaders have attended several events for the second annual summit today and yesterday. The first UK-Ireland Summit took place in Liverpool in March last year, as part of what the Taoiseach and prime minister hailed as a “reset” in relations which brought about enhanced co-operation on projects to 2030.

Tánaiste Simon Harris, Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee, Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien and Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan were also at Fota House today.

The Prime Minister is joined by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds and Business Secretary Peter Kyle.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer with their teams at Fota House, Co Cork, this morning. XXX XXX

Speaking to reporters at Fota House today Martin rejected the idea that his Government is not providing information to Troubles Legacy investigative bodies.

The Taoiseach also said the UK-Ireland’s Legacy Framework is a “generational opportunity” to make progress for Troubles survivors and bereaved families.

“I have made it very clear that any information we can give to help victims and survivors of the Troubles we will do and we will co-operate fully in that regard.”

Philomena’s Law

In a significant development, Starmer backed a proposed so-called “Philomena’s Law”, which will help thousands of mother and baby homes survivors living in the UK accept compensation from an Irish redress scheme without losing access to their benefits.

The proposal is named after survivor and campaigner Philomena Lee and both Starmer and Martin backed the proposals in a joint statement today. 

“We acknowledge the suffering of those who spent time in mother and baby homes during the 20th century,” the leaders said.

In recognition of the lifelong impact of this, today the UK agrees to disregard payments under Ireland’s Mother and Baby Redress Scheme, ensuring that survivors in both countries are treated the same and can receive the compensation to which they are rightly entitled.

Meanwhile, Starmer said the conflict in the Middle East has increased the importance of having good relations between the UK and Ireland, while Martin said increased co-ordination between the two countries would help to guarantee economic security.

Earlier, the two leaders visited the Tyndall National Institute, an electronics research centre at University College Cork.

Following the meeting, Starmer and Martin released a joint statement with a list of agreed actions in the areas of “shared prosperity, shared seas and shared ties”.

The document also outlines co-operation on research in areas such as quantum technology and 6G, emergency preparedness, and opportunities around offshore energy infrastructure.

The two Governments said they would continue implementation of legislation on legacy issues in Northern Ireland, while a new memorandum of understanding on defence was described as putting a focus on maritime and cyber defence and security as well as “information sharing” in the aerial domain.

Speaking at the start of the summit, Martin said work between the two Governments to deal with the legacy of the Northern Ireland Troubles “personifies the benefits of our relationship”.

He added: “We have an agreed memorandum of understanding in terms of defence and security which is very, very important where we are collectively working together in a collaborative way and a co-operative way, work to protect our sub-sea cables, our critical underwater infrastructure, the challenges on cyber attacks that affect us all and more general security issues.

“I think that level of co-ordination is very, very important to underpin and guarantee our economic security, but broader security in a very challenging and uncertain world.”