Taoiseach Micheál Martin said Britain must appoint a new prime minister “quickly as possible” to ensure political and financial stability following the resignation of Liz Truss.
Arriving at a European Union summit, Martin said stability is “very important and we would like to see the UK system within its capacity to have a successor selected as quickly as possible and that stability would be brought to the situation, given the fairly significant geopolitical issues facing Europe,” reports RTE.
“On a personal, level I sympathise with her. I think it’s been a very difficult time for the British prime minister, given all that has happened,” reports RTE.
He said there was a window of opportunity for Truss’s successor to address issues relating to the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which would unilaterally amend the protocol.
“I don’t see it getting past any time soon in the House of Lords, at least that’s what we’re being told,” he said, reports RTE.
According to RTE, he concluded: “We are obviously concerned when there is instability [in the UK] but I believe it is within the capacity of the British system to settle this down. We look forward to an engagement with the new prime minister.”
In a statement this afternoon, Martin said he had several opportunities to interact with Truss during his “brief period” as prime minister.
“I convey my best wishes to her and her family, following today’s announcement of her resignation,” said Martin, reports RTE.
Martin said that “substantive EU-UK engagement” to reach an agreement on outstanding issues relating to the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol is “ever more urgent”.
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said Ireland is monitoring the effects political developments in the UK could have on the Irish economy.
Donohoe said the UK’s political and economic stability is a “ital ingredient in the economic prospects of Ireland and indeed of Europe,” reports RTE.
Speaking in Dublin, he said the UK government had “reaffirmed their commitment to budgetary and economic stability,” reports RTE.
“Ireland has always been a close friend of the UK and of the government of the UK. Even during tough and challenging moments during the Brexit process, we always affirmed the value of close friendship” he said, RTE reported.
Sinn Féin Vice President Michelle O’Neill has called on political parties in Northern Ireland to unite to “stand up to the Tories” after her resignation.
“The chaos and disastrous policies of the Tories has heaped misery onto workers and families,” she wrote on social media, according to RTE.
The British Irish Chamber of Commerce urged Ms Truss’s successor to find practical solutions to the Northern Ireland Protocol and to work to restore EU-UK relations.
John McGrane, Director-General of the British-Irish Chamber of Commerce, said he appreciated Ms Truss’s efforts to begin restoring the British-Irish relationship and address issues relating to the Northern Ireland Protocol.
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