Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Brendan Hughes & Rebecca Daly

Taoiseach Micheal Martin opposes motion to end Fianna Fail partnership with the SDLP

Micheal Martin has said that he will not be supporting any proposals for Fianna Fail to end its partnership with the SDLP.

It comes as the party’s youth wing had passed a motion at its conference calling an end to the cross-border alliance.

The Taoiseach said this partnership, which was announced back in 2019, is “strong” and “will continue”. The status of it since it's formation, however, has been uncertain.

Read more: Taoiseach Micheal Martin sends warning to Boris Johnson over Northern Ireland Protocol after confidence vote

The president of Ogra Fianna Fail was asked to take the proposal to end the partnership to the party’s ruling body.

It followed claims of tensions between the two parties’ youth wings in the years since the alliance.

When asked by Belfast Live about the current status of the relationship and whether he would back any possible efforts at a future Fianna Fail ard fheis to end the collaboration, Martin said: “In relation to the SDLP, the relationship is strong and that relationship will continue.

"We will not be supporting any resolution at the ard fheis to in any way affect that or undermine that."

The comments came as the Taoiseach was speaking to the European Parliament in Strasbourg ahead of unveiling a sculpture honouring former SDLP leader John Hume.

The bronze bust of the Nobel laureate, a key architect of the Good Friday Agreement, marks his contribution during his 25 years as an MEP and the inspiration he took from the European project.

The Taoiseach said it was a privilege to unveil the artwork, adding: "I've been a long-time, all my life, an admirer of the work of John Hume.

"And of course his role as a European parliamentarian was so important in internationalising the issues in Northern Ireland.

“He did it in America and he did it here in Strasbourg and in Brussels, and he gave a powerful international voice for justice and for resolution, and for peace in Northern Ireland."

During the recent Stormont Assembly election campaign, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said voters had not asked about the party's partnership with Fianna Fail.

He defended the collaboration, arguing that it played a role in the Irish government setting up the multi-million-euro Shared Island Unit to boost north-south cooperation.

He added: "That was work that was done as a result of conversations that Micheal Martin and I had together.

"That's the legacy of those conversations and we're very proud actually that over the next five years you're going to see real change on the ground, cross-border, in border communities, because of the work we did there."

Read more: Boris Johnson confidence vote: Tory divisions in UK must not impact Northern Ireland Protocol talks, says Simon Coveney

Read more: EU official in charge of energy policy says dependency on Russian oil has left Europe open to 'blackmail'

Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.