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British Ambassador Paul Johnston has said that Ireland will “feature prominently in our consideration” when the UK government has a surplus of Covid-19 vaccines.
It will look to Ireland “very favorably when the time comes,” he said, and the UK also pledged to donate most of its surplus supply to poorer countries.
“The prime minister says that when we get to the stage of having a surplus – which we’re a long, long way off still – that Ireland would rank high in our consideration of that. I think not least because of the shared island, you can see there’s a strong case for that. “
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has previously said he was “disappointed” when Prime Minister Boris Johnson told him that he “would not be in a position to give anybody vaccinations” until the UK has achieved its own goals.
“We have certainly said that we would view it very favorably when the time comes,” the ambassador said, praising the “open dialogue” between Dublin and London on Covid-19.
“There is a lot of transparency and a lot of coordination between Belfast, London and Dublin. It is also recognized that each jurisdiction must make its own decision.”
The long awaited UK Defense, Security, Development and Foreign Policy Integrated Review lists Ireland as one of its’ priority partners’ due to their ‘deep shared interest in Northern Ireland’ and the Common Travel Zone ‘, that unites the two islands. “.
Johnston accepts that there has been much “unhappiness” surrounding the controversial Northern Ireland protocol, which has resulted in a border in the Irish Sea, but insists that, despite trade union opposition, the UK government ” he wants the protocol to be a success. ”
Last week, loyalists said they could return to violence if the protocol is not removed.
The ambassador said that the UK administration “recognizes that the protocol will take a little time to allow people to adapt to implement the new requirements.”
After four years, the UK government must give the Northern Ireland Assembly an opportunity to decide whether these provisions remain in force.
“It will stand or fall depending on how it works in practice and it will stand or fall by vote in the Assembly four years from now,” Johnston said, “but the government wants it to be a success, no doubt.”
Post-Brexit complications “that were perhaps not foreseeable or anticipated when the protocol was finalized” also “need to be taken into account,” he said.
He downplayed the potential threat of loyalist violence due to rising tensions over the protocol, describing it as “political concerns” and insisting that there are “dissidents and extremists in both communities and people who are of concern in both communities.” .
The Integrated Review reaffirms the UK’s commitment to European security and declares its “shared responsibility” in upholding the Good Friday Agreement “in all its elements”.
These include the internal governance of Northern Ireland, North-South cooperation and East-West relations.
As part of the review, the UK government has identified a ‘wide range of issues’ it wants to work on with Ireland in the future, including addressing climate change and its impacts.
The two governments will work closely together when the UK hosts the United Nations Climate Conference in Glasgow at the end of the year, having together pledged to achieve net zero targets and push for global ambition on reducing emissions and climate finance.
On the benefits of the Common Travel Zone, Johnston said Britain and Ireland are working together “to exchange best practices, information and intelligence.”
“We have seen a lot of evidence on these islands of serious and organized criminal gangs involved in drugs and firearms and human trafficking,” he said.
However, there has been “a long-standing concern about the link in both directions,” Johnston said, referring to drug trafficking on both sides of the Irish Sea.
“A substantial proportion of the drugs sourced in the UK often come from, you know, Ireland, so the cooperation on how we can take down organized crime and the drug sphere is certainly, I think, a long time. permanent concern, “he added. “I don’t know that these patterns have changed enormously during the pandemic.”
Due to the “phenomenon” of the rise of the far-right movement, the UK government has consulted with its counterparts here on a new law to “deter harm and misinformation online”.
“Years ago, there were anti-globalization protests and things like that, but now there are some anti-capitalist protests, anti-immigrant protests, and these people are using cyber dominance. There is also rampant disinformation circulating, including about vaccines,” Johnston said.
While working with the UK to maintain a “safe, peaceful and open cyberspace” and to address terrorist and extremist use of the internet, Ireland’s seat on the UN Security Council means it will share priorities on human rights, gender equality. and conflict prevention.
Independent Sunday
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