The holding of the European Championship in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Britain in 2028 offers a major opportunity to “come together”, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has said.
His remarks came in the wake of opposition from the Democratic Unionist Party leader, Jeffrey Donaldson, to the spending of British taxpayers’ money on the redevelopment of the GAA’s Casement Park in Belfast, one of the proposed venues for the soccer tournament.
However, Mr Martin told a British Irish Chamber of Commerce conference in Dublin that the sporting event offers an “exciting” opportunity for “partnership, potential and prosperity”.
“That’s what I think we need to focus on,” he said.
A quarter of a century on, he said, the Belfast Agreement has not delivered a “full” reconciliation dividend, but sporting organisations, including soccer and GAA clubs, can and do help to breakdown the “separation” that exists between communities.
“We’ve got to consistently work at breaking down perceived barriers,” he said. “A soccer tournament is important because soccer has been a differentiator to breaking down border borders and football associations are working to try and bridge those differences.”
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said the lesson from the London Olympics in 2012 was that long-term benefits can be delivered for poorer communities from staging such events.
“You just have to look at Stratford and London to see the change you can make and the benefit you can bring to it and the wealth you can create in the economy. You can get a plan together,” he added.
Mr Martin and Mr Heaton-Harris, who also addressed the conference in Dublin, were both reluctant to comment on the progress of talks between London and the DUP to restore the Stormont political institutions.
However, Mr Heaton Harris noted remarks by Mr Donaldson this week to the Press Association, where he said he would like to see a successful resolution to his party’s negotiations with London over its difficulties with the post-Brexit Windsor Framework.
Speaking in advance of the DUP’s conference this weekend, Mr Donaldson said there has been “absolutely no dissent” within his party over the handling of the talks to secure concessions from London over the operation of the Windsor Framework.
Progress had been made, he said: ”A lot depends on the progress which is made to close the gaps that are there, but, certainly, we would like to see an outcome within the next few weeks.
“We have identified what the outstanding issues are, we are clear about what is required to both protect in law and respect our ability to trade with the rest of the United Kingdom.”
Reading into the remarks positively, Mr Heaton-Harris said one can “detect a slight nuance” and that it will “be interesting to see” what he tells his party members on Saturday.
Refusing to set a deadline for a conclusion to the talks with the DUP, he said the Windsor Framework deal came after negotiations that were held in “confidence behind closed doors over a long period of time”.
