Speaking after meeting with President of the United States, Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris on St Patrick’s Day, Joint Head of government in the north Michelle O’Neill MLA, said:

“Today’s meeting with President Biden and Vice-President Harris was hugely beneficial as they both reaffirmed their unequivocal support for the Irish peace process and full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.

“I thanked them both for their continued political support and emphasised the valued role played by the US administration since the Clinton era.

“Given the unjust reality where the north no longer has a place in the European Union, our future relationship with Britain itself is now legitimately the focus of widespread public and political discourse as we look to the future of this island. I have no doubt history will conclude that Brexit was an own goal for this Conservative government, and their allies.

“We are now seeing evidence of an unacceptable direct rule approach being taken by the British government. This is circumventing and undermining the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement and power-sharing and cannot be ignored.

Michelle O’Neill concluded: 

“I acknowledged and welcomed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s bipartisan resolution passed yesterday which expressed full support for the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, and no hard border in Ireland. It also insists that any new US/UK trade agreement must take into account, conditions requiring that obligations under the Good Friday Agreement are met.

“I invited both President Biden and Vice-President Harris to visit the North when both sides of the Atlantic overcome the Covid-19 global health pandemic, and together recover and rebuild our societies and economies.” CRÍOCH/ENDS