Leo Varadkar accused of trying to 'reinvent himself' after Irish unity comments
Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly has criticised former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and accused him of trying to 'reinvent himself' post his life in politics.
The former Fine Gael leader hit headlines in recent days as he stated he would 'forgo two years of economic growth' for the unification of Ireland.
He stated, however, that he did not think a referendum date should be set as it is currently unlikely to pass. However, he called for planning for a united Ireland to begin.
Mr Varadkar, who stood down as Taoiseach in March 2024, also told BBC's The View that Irish unity would become 'centre stage' if Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was ever to become British Prime Minister.
When the comments were put to leaders at the North South Ministerial Council in Armagh on Friday, Ms Little-Pengelly, Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister and DUP MP, took aim at Mr Varadkar.
She said: 'Leo Varadkar is entitled to reinvent himself in whatever way that he so chooses.
'But he is wrong in terms of the trajectory. When you look at people in Northern Ireland voting for nationalist parties, that hasn't moved since 1998.
'While there's more complexity in terms of the voting beyond that, everyone else is either voting for a proactively Unionist Party or parties who explicitly said they do not want to be focused or advocate for constitutional change.
'There hasn't been any significant shift in that. So there's nothing, in my view, to say that the trajectory is such that this is an inevitability. I don't accept that it is an inevitability.'
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, meanwhile, said that he believes that reconciliation will become a 'defining issue' between 'all traditions on this island'.
He said the 'hardest work' will be rebuilding relationships and 'creating an understanding between people'.
Mr Martin said: 'I'm very much focused on the hard ground, building relationships. What we did today is part of the agenda. What he did last week is part of that agenda.
'The very gratifying reset of relationships with the human government is part of that agenda. I'm not going to anticipate what's going to happen in the British election in two or three years' time.
'I've often said to Leo, don't always be obsessed with opinion polls, they give different results.
'The point is, I don't know what's going to happen in the British election.'
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Tánaiste Simon Harris, Mr Varadkar's successor as Fine Gael leader, said that Ireland has a 'proud tradition' of former Taoisigh contributing to political debate and discourse.
He added: "I think everybody who's held the office of Taoiseach aspires to ultimately see our country united, but we do have a huge amount of work to do.
'I share the Taoiseach's view in relation to that body of work. At the moment, I think relations between the British and Irish government are at the best they have been in a very long time.
'I'm of the generation that wasn't an age to vote in the Good Friday Agreement.
'I think involving people of all ages and generations on what our shared future looks like is a really, really important piece of work.
'I think the body of work that we're trying to get over the line, for want of a better phrase, in a sensitive, inclusive, human rights-based way around how we approach legacy and reconciliation is where a huge part of our focus is and then on the very practical nature of how we can work together across the island of Ireland.
'I certainly don't think Leo's comments are wrong, I think that's where the focus of the Irish government is at.'
At the same event, First Minister Michelle O'Neill expressed concerns about the looming tariff deadline as the end of US President Donald Trump's 90-day pause approaches.
With just 18 days to go, Ms O'Neill said Northern Ireland 'always loses out whenever there's a divergence of position'.
She said: 'We've been very connected the whole way through this. Because, I mean, things are changing day by day. We wake up one morning and we don't know what is the latest position.
'We're very anxious that our unique circumstances are taken into account, and we don't want to have barriers and differences across the island.'
Ms Little-Pengelly, meanwhile, stated that there is already a customs and tariff differential and how that is being dealt with under the Windsor Framework is 'not working'.
She added: 'There are significant risks here, if indeed, the European Union gets into the position of having to do or feeling that they have to do reciprocal or retaliatory tariffs.
'I have raised with the UK Government that there is no need for that to apply to Northern Ireland. You could exclude Northern Ireland, for example, by unilateral declaration.'
The Taoiseach, however, said that he is hopeful that the EU will be able to strike a deal with the US and a 'failure to agree has repercussions for [the US and EU]and for the world'.
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