Hilary Benn

The UK government was represented by the Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn and parliamentary under-secretary of state for Northern Ireland, Matthew Patrick.

The government of Ireland was represented by the foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee and justice minister Jim O’Callaghan.

The parties agreed on the importance of implementation of the commitments made under the joint framework as soon as possible, including to build public confidence in legacy arrangements.

They also discussed the Omagh Bombing Inquiry, including the recent introduction and rapid progress of the International Co-operation (Omagh Bombing Inquiry) Bill 2026, to facilitate the cooperation of authorities in Ireland with the Inquiry. Issues in respect of a number of individual legacy cases were also discussed and the UK government updated on the recently announced review of the ICRIR.

The governments discussed how they can best continue to support the effective operation of all the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement across all three Strands. 

The UK government also provided an update on the ongoing efforts to support the Northern Ireland Executive with public service transformation and their budget.

They condemned the attempted attack on Lurgan Police Station in March and the attack on Dunmurry Police Station last weekend, both claimed by the New IRA, and welcomed the ongoing cooperation between the PSNI and An Garda Síochána in tackling terrorism, paramilitarism and associated criminality. 

Ministers also noted the ongoing work of the independent expert, Fleur Ravensbergen, to assess whether there is merit in, and support for, a formal process of engagement to bring about paramilitary group transition to disbandment. They looked forward to the finalisation of her report by August 2026. 

Ministers reflected on the UK-Ireland 2030 agenda and the commitments made at the second UK-Ireland Summit in March 2026. They welcomed the positive discussions on:

enhancing energy security, including through cooperation between ports on the island of Ireland in the development of offshore wind, and through delivering progress on the North-South electricity interconnector;

a bilateral Ireland-UK approach to address concerns arising from hybrid cross-border working and to consider other aspects of the UK-Ireland Double Taxation Convention which may require updating.

Ministers also discussed opportunities to continue cooperative efforts to share lessons from the Northern Ireland peace process as well as the joint commitment to develop any future digital ID solutions in partnership, ensuring that the rights afforded by the Common Travel Area as well as the rights afforded to citizens under the Good Friday Agreement are protected. 

The governments agreed that the conference would meet again later in 2026.