The Taoiseach has hailed “very strong confidence and mutual trust” between the UK and Irish governments during a visit to Belfast.
Micheal Martin was speaking after being pressed on how the UK is handling dealing with the legacy of Northern Ireland’s troubled past.
He heard starkly opposing views on legacy from Sinn Fein and the DUP during a series of meetings at Parliament Buildings, Stormont, earlier in the day.
Sinn Fein pressed for the interstate case which Ireland initiated against the UK in 2023 over the previous government’s controversial Legacy Act, claiming it breached the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The DUP described the case as “disgraceful” and called for it to be stopped.
Labour is set to bring forward replacement legislation but some still have concerns about the impact on families of Troubles victims seeking truth and justice.
Speaking to media at Grand Central Station in Belfast on Thursday evening, Mr Martin said there is “no basis” to suggest that the UK Government will renege on its commitments on legacy.
“We’ve worked in a very collaborative, constructive way with the British Government in respect of the joint framework on legacy, and a lot of progress has been made,” he said.
“In fairness, they have fulfilled their commitments to date, and we also are fulfilling our commitments.”
The Taoiseach described “very strong confidence and mutual trust” between the UK and Irish governments.
Asked if it would be a confidence-building measure to drop the interstate case, Mr Martin said the relationship between the governments has been positive and added: “I think they understand the context of how this is evolving and how this will work.
“And so we’re quite confident there’s no need, really, between the two governments to have to engage in confidence-building measures.
“I think we’ve had a good relationship to date on a range of issues and continuing progress.”
The topic of the reform of the powersharing institutions also featured in his meetings with the main Stormont parties on Thursday afternoon.
During his first meeting, Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald said she told Mr Martin that the concerns of victims need to be addressed in the joint framework on legacy between the UK and Irish governments.
Speaking to reporters at Stormont, Ms McDonald urged that “we do not go down the road of the British Government pandering to their veterans and compromising the effectiveness and the legality of the legacy framework”.
She added: “We have been given assurances that there will be absolute vigilance on the part of the Irish Government in that regard, and that the interstate case still remains live.”
Ms McDonald said it is important the UK Government understands it could not “walk away from the real need for effective and fully legally compliant legacy mechanisms”.
The Taoiseach’s second meeting was with a DUP delegation, which included leader Gavin Robinson and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly.
Mr Robinson said he is “continually disappointed” with the approach of the Irish Government, particularly Ireland’s interstate case against the UK over the Legacy Act, and its “unwillingness to engage” with the Omagh Bombing Inquiry, or set up its own parallel inquiry.
“It has always been a disgrace – I’ve indicated to you very clearly – an Irish Government that talks a lot about legacy but has delivered nothing for victims, an Irish Government that has more answers in their top drawer than they have the temerity to give lectures to the UK Government,” he said.
“They continually ask a lot of others, but they fail time and time and time again.”
Meanwhile reform of the institutions featured in the Taoiseach’s meetings with the Alliance Party and the SDLP.
Alliance leader Naomi Long said both the UK and Irish governments have responsibility to both drive the reform of Stormont, as well as acting on dealing with the legacy of the past.
“The issue has been finding the momentum and the timing between the two governments and the Assembly to be able to move this forward, and I think the time is now right,” she said.
“It’s very clear that all parties recognise the current situation where our institutions are constantly destabilised by the threat of collapse and possibility that somebody will walk away, and that we aren’t able to function as a normal government, I think are issues that most people recognise, and it’s a conversation that we need to have with a degree of urgency.”
SDLP leader Claire Hanna said she talked to Mr Martin about the urgency of delivering Stormont reform before the next Assembly election in a year’s time.
“The fact is that people here deserve better than failing government, and government that is never far from collapse,” she said.
“We think that the Taoiseach understands that argument, and we’ve urged him with the UK Government to convene a process.
“There is momentum, urgency and a window to get this done in good time before the next election.”
Mr Martin spoke to UUP leader Jon Burrows by phone, as he was in London.
Mr Burrows said he “constructively challenged” the Taoiseach on legacy, telling him “the way Dublin has handled legacy to date is simply not good enough”.
Mr Martin also met with business leaders, and with Women’s Aid.
He went on to Grand Central Station, where he marked the signing of a 700 million euro (£604 million) contract for a new fleet of cross-border trains, before delivering the Lord David Trimble Lecture 2026 at Queen’s University Belfast.
Speaking ahead of his visit, the Taoiseach paid tribute to Lord Trimble’s “critical role in the achievement of the Good Friday Agreement”.
“The principles and purpose of the agreement remain central to what my Government does and how we foster relationships across these islands,” he said.
“I am committed to continuing to work toward reconciliation and mutual trust, as we collectively set out to do in 1998, including through the Shared Island Initiative.”
