It happens that Ireland’s three main political leaders, north and south, have all taken up their posts relatively recently so it is essential that positive links are maintained between their respective offices.
Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly were confirmed as first and deputy first minister in February when the DUP’s embarrassing two-year Stormont boycott finally came to an end, while Simon Harris only became the youngest taoiseach in Irish history less than a month ago after the entirely unexpected resignation of Leo Varadkar, so it is clear that new relationships need to be fostered.
It was appropriate that Mr Harris made it a priority to organise his first northern visit yesterday, having discussions with a range of political, business and academic figures as well as engaging with activists in the field of reconciliation and community development.
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However, as vital cross-border issues reach a crucial stage, his most important talks were always going to be with Ms O’Neill and Ms Little-Pengelly.
Deep concerns have been growing for some time in both Dublin and Belfast about the implications of the British government’s appalling attitude towards the complex problems associated with the crisis over asylum seekers.
As almost every serious commentator, including our columnist Denis Bradley yesterday, has stressed, the world is already experiencing a disaster of unprecedented proportions and it is going to get much worse in the coming decades.
Massive economic factors are also involved but the grim realities of climate change, bringing drought, floods and pestilence to many regions, will have fundamental consequences across the globe.
Deep concerns have been growing for some time in both Dublin and Belfast about the implications of the British government’s appalling attitude towards the complex problems associated with the crisis over asylum seekers
Ireland, as a small country on the edge of Europe, has not so far been at the heart of the debate but is increasingly facing decisions of major significance.
While it was inevitable that administrations would struggle to deal with the influx of refugees, there can only be alarm over indications that related north/south communications have been somewhere between ineffective and non-existent to date.
The Irish justice minister Helen McEntee plainly surprised her Stormont counterparts by declaring last week that 80% of recent asylum claims in the south were from people who arrived in the state by crossing the land border.
Her figures have been questioned by those working with refugees but, wherever the truth lies, it is essential that the related policies of the authorities across Ireland are carefully and thoroughly coordinated.
It was deeply unhelpful to find Downing Street sources making the ludicrous suggestion that the Irish government would be invited to join the UK’s completely discredited Rwanda migrant deportation scheme.
A much more mature and considered strategy is urgently required in Ireland and it must be expected that the process began in earnest yesterday.
