Overview
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Taoiseach Micheál Martin convened ministers at Fota House after a research visit to University College Cork’s Tyndall National Institute.
- Talks are prioritising high energy costs and new links, including a Wales–Ireland interconnector projected to power about 570,000 homes with at least £740 million in private investment.
- A separate cross‑border energy connector between Northern Ireland and Ireland is intended to reduce electricity prices on the island.
- The governments are expected to plan joint resilience exercises for subsea fibre‑optic cables and to update a defence memorandum to counter shadow fleets and other risks in the Irish and Celtic seas.
- Officials highlighted £937 million in new Irish investment into the UK with about 850 jobs expected, and confirmed €5 million for 12 joint cultural projects as leaders also met business and youth groups while small protests took place in Cork.