Harris to make first visit to NI as taoiseach

Simon Harris will meet the first and deputy first ministers on Friday when he makes his first visit to Northern Ireland as taoiseach (Irish PM).

Mr Harris was elected as taoiseach last month, becoming the Republic of Ireland's youngest ever leader.

At the time he pledged to honour his role as a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement and work together with the Northern Ireland Executive.

He will also meet with leaders from the Alliance Party, the Ulster Unionist Party and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) when he visits Stormont later.

The taoiseach's meeting with the first and deputy first ministers is expected to touch on developments since restoration of the political institutions in February.

It will also look at areas of common interest and potential opportunities for practical all-island cooperation.

He will also be briefed by key business stakeholders in Northern Ireland and discuss business environment challenges and opportunities over a working lunch.

Mr Harris will also be hosted by the Duncairn Arts Centre, where the focus will be on the achievements in the reconciliation and community development work of the 174 Trust through disability, arts, women and pre-school groups.

Finally, he will visit Queen's University to meet with academics involved in some ongoing all-island research.

UK asylum policy row

Earlier this week, First Minister Michelle O'Neill said officials needed to "get to grips" with recent issues between the UK and Ireland concerning asylum seeker policy.

It followed a move by the Irish government to bring legislation that will redesignate the UK as a "safe country" to which asylum seekers can be returned.

Irish government ministers collectively approved the plan brought to the cabinet by Justice Minister Helen McEntee.

Last week she claimed more than 80% of recent asylum claims in Ireland were from people who arrived in the state by crossing the border with Northern Ireland.

The Irish government is struggling to deal with the number of asylum seekers who have arrived in the state in recent years.

But the British government has said it will decide who it accepts into the UK.

Mr Harris said other countries' migration policies "cannot be allowed to undermine" Ireland's.

It is likely that Mr Harris will discuss the issue with Michelle O'Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly during Friday's meeting.

On Wednesday, the Tánaiste (Irish deputy PM) Micheál Martin spoke to the Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris about illegal migration.

In a statement released by the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) afterwards, it said Mr Martin confirmed there would be no deployment of Irish police officers to the Irish border and that the Irish government shared a "steadfast commitment" to securing the external border of the Common Travel Area.

What is the Common Travel Area?

The Common Travel Area (CTA) is a special travel zone covering the United Kingdom; Republic of Ireland; Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

Under its rules, UK and Irish citizens can travel freely into each other's countries.

It also gives them special residential rights under which they can set up home and access public services in each other's states without immigration restrictions.

These free movement arrangements, in various forms, date back to the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922.

However, CTA rights do not extend to migrants, even if they hold lawful residency in the UK or Ireland.