Tánaiste Simon Harris will meet with political leaders on Tuesday on his first visit to Belfast following the formation of the new government in Dublin.
Mr Harris said a visit north was a top priority after being confirmed as the foreign affairs minister, his other role in government.
He will meet First Minister, Michelle O’Neill and deputy First Minister, Emma Little-Pengelly as well as Assembly speaker Edwin Poots, SDLP leader Claire Hanna and the Alliance’s Justice Minister Naomi Long.
The Tánaiste said that following the formation of the government last week he spoke with the north’s two leaders and Secretary of State Hilary Benn,
“I wanted to ensure that there was an early engagement with the the First and deputy First Minister as well as party leaders before I meet with the Secretary of State which I intend to do shortly,” Mr Harris said ahead of his trip.
“Having just finalised our Programme for Government in recent weeks and with the Northern Ireland Executive are close to finalising theirs, we have much we can do together, including through the North South Ministerial Council and the Shared Island initiative,” the Fine Gael leader said.
“While this is my first visit in this new role, I visited Northern Ireland on a number of occasions as Taoiseach last year and intend to be a regular visitor in the time ahead.
“In the weeks to come I am determined to hear from a range of voices from across Northern Ireland, community voices, civic voice and business voices, as well as political leaders.
“Importantly, I want to hear from victims and survivors of the violence on the Troubles, and their families and representatives, as we try to navigate a better way to deal with the legacy of the past.”
