Arlene: Let’s get closer after Brexit
DUP chief wants to build on improving ties UK leaving EU ‘won’t end mutual interests’
DUP leader Arlene Foster has called for closer relations between Belfast and Dublin as Brexit negotiations move to the next phase.
Speaking in Killarney, Co Kerry, yesterday she said the process was not about pulling up a drawbridge and cutting Northern Ireland off.
Mrs Foster told an economic think tank it was in the North’s best interests to see Ireland prosper and both sides should work together.
She adopted a conciliatory tone – softer than the hard line taken by her party during early Brexit negotiations around the border issue.
Mrs Foster added: “Maintaining Northern Ireland’s economic and political status as an integral part of the United Kingdom is absolutely crucial to me and my party.
“To think anything else would be as foolish as believing that the Taoiseach or the Tanaiste desired anything other than Irish unity. But while we will always battle for our own national interests, we must also battle for our mutual interests. And our mutual interests will not end on the day the UK formally leaves the European Union.
“The UK may be leaving the EU but the common interests that we share across the British Isles will remain.”
Mrs Foster said relations between North and South had been “extraordinarily positive” since the Troubles ended and none of this must be lost.
She suggested deepening ties through the British-irish Council which was set up as part of the Good Friday Agreement to co-operate on issues including transport and environment. Mrs Foster added: “The UK exiting the European Union ought not to become a barrier to continued co-operation on issues of ongoing mutual interest.
“Change should not be allowed to weaken the relationships so painstakingly put together.
“As challenging as finding a suitable solution might seem, there is no good reason why our own issues on this island should present any threat to the progress we’ve made.
“I value the relationships we have developed too much to do anything that would jeopardise them.”
The DUP wants an expanded role for the British Irish Council similar to that of the council which facilitates trade between the Nordic nations.
Farmers here have warned that Brexit and the collapse of sterling will have a disastrous effect on the agri export market to the UK, worth an estimated €4billion a year.
Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin, who met Mrs Foster before the conference started, said he sensed her determination to work towards restoring the Northern Executive.
He added: “The continued absence of an Executive and Assembly is extremely damaging to Northern Ireland in the context of the Brexit negotiations.”
UK exiting EU ought not to be a barrier to continued co-operation ARLENE FOSTER CO KERRY YESTERDAY