In his letter, Dr Kirkpatrick said that much had changed since the summer of 2017 when Mr Varadkar first became Taoiseach. Speaking about the agreement that led to the Taoiseach’s second term, the Moderator said, “What impressed many people following the January 2020 General Election was a willingness from all parties to compromise for the common good and move forward, of which your reappointment is a part. Many of those issues remain – the outworking of Brexit, for example, and a new absence of a Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly. On this island we continue to face the ramifications of the war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis. Along with my fellow Church leaders, we spoke of these and other issues with President Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin just last month.”
Wishing the Taoiseach a Happy Christmas, he concluded by offering his prayers for the future saying, “As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ we are called to pray for those in authority, so you, and the coalition government that you lead, can be assured of my prayers and those in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.”