The US president, Joe Biden, called for a permanent end to political violence in Ireland during an address to the Irish parliament on Thursday. Biden told Irish MPs: 'The Good Friday agreement didn’t just change lives for the better in Northern Ireland, it has significant positive impact across the Republic of Ireland as well.' In a remark received with applause, Biden added: 'Political violence should never be allowed to take hold in this island.'

Biden welcomed the Good Friday agreement and expressed his support for it. 'The greatest peace dividend of the Good Friday agreement is an entire generation of young people … whose hearts have been shaped not by grievances of the past but by the confidence that there are no checkpoints on their dreams'