Iran war increases need for good relations between UK and Ireland, says Starmer

By Cillian Sherlock and Jonathan McCambridge, Press Association

The conflict in the Middle East has increased the importance of having good relations between the UK and Ireland, Keir Starmer has said.

And Taoiseach Micheál Martin said increased coordination between the two countries would help to guarantee economic security.

The two leaders met in Co Cork for the second UK-Ireland Summit.

Starmer was greeted by Taoiseach Martin at Fota House ahead of the series of meetings involving ministers from both governments.

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”.

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.”

Starmer highlighted cooperation on trade and energy policies.

An interconnector between Wales and Ireland is expected to provide enough power for 570,000 homes, and represent at least £740 million of private investment.

A separate energy connector between Northern Ireland and Ireland aims to lower electricity costs on the island.

Sir Keir said: “We look at Ukraine … the conflict now in Iran, you can see when it comes to energy, our ability to collaborate and co-operate for energy security and bringing bills down and moving to renewables further and faster is critical.”

I do think in light of the conflict in Iran it is really important that we work ever more closely together

He added: “The context at the moment is one where we have to work ever more closely together as key partners.

“We are working together to protect our citizens who are in the Gulf, collaborating in the last two weeks to ensure that we can work together to get those citizens back to our respective countries.

“We can go further and we have the ambition to go further on defence and security, that is really important.

“Europe needs to do more, we need to step up on defence and security, we all need to spend more but that has got to be co-ordinated, we’ve got to collaborate otherwise we won’t get strategically what we need when it comes to defence and security.

“I do think in light of the conflict in Iran it is really important that we work ever more closely together.”

On Thursday, Sir Keir said more than £900 million of new Irish investment into the UK was part of the “flourishing” ties between Ireland and Britain.

The £937 million in new investment from companies in Ireland is expected to create about 850 jobs across London, Doncaster, South Wales and Scotland, and covers gas networks, AI and cloud computing, and financial services.

The Government of Ireland is also represented by Tanaiste and Finance Minister Simon Harris, Foreign Affairs, Trade and Defence Minister Helen McEntee, Energy and Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien, and Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan.

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.

The 2026 programme included a business roundtable event, a civic and cultural reception, an engagement with the Ireland-UK Youth Forum Advisory Group and a research-focused visit.

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

Sir Keir and Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn met the region’s political parties on Thursday.