Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan visits Greece as part of Ireland’s St. Patrick’s Day Programme of Events
- Published on: 11 March 2026
- Last updated on: 11 March 2026
Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan visited Greece this week as part of Ireland’s programme of St. Patrick’s Day events.
St. Patrick’s Day provides an unparalleled opportunity to showcase Ireland on the global stage and to engage at the highest levels with political, business, civil society, cultural and diaspora leaders.
Minister O’Callaghan’s visit to Athens comes at a time of ever-closer partnership and cooperation between Ireland and Greece in the approach to Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Ireland’s ‘trio partners’ for the Presidency will be Lithuania and Greece, who will assume the Presidency in January and July 2027 respectively.
Minister O’Callaghan was accompanied by the Irish Ambassador to Greece and Albania, Ciara O’Floinn and her team.
The Minister delivered an address at the annual St. Patrick’s Day Ball, hosted by the Greek-Irish Society which was also attended by members of the Irish community, the diplomatic corps, business and cultural leaders.
Delivering his remarks, the Minister said:
“Ireland and Greece recently celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations, and the strength of Irish-Greek connections across political, cultural and community ties is evident this evening. I know the Embassy is doing great work to promote and deepen the links between our two countries.”
Ahead of the implementation across the EU of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, Minister O’Callaghan held a number of bi-lateral meetings including with Laura Lo Castro of the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR.
The Minister also met with his Greek counterparts, Minister for Justice, Giorgos Floridis, Minister of Citizen Protection, Michalis Chrysochoidis, Minister for Migration and Asylum, Athanasios Plevris and Minister of the Interior, Minister Theodoros Livanios.
Reforms to modernise our respective justice systems were discussed between Minister O’Callaghan and the Greek Minister for Justice, Giorgos Floridis.
Minister O’Callaghan said:
“Ireland is making significant progress on our courts modernisation programme, especially on digitalisation measures, which is improving the efficiency of and access to justice. This is an area of priority for Greece too and I welcomed the opportunity to discuss the implementation and impact of our reforms with Minister Floridis. We also discussed the important cooperation between Ireland and Greece on judicial and criminal matters which is facilitated by organisations such as the European Judicial Network and Eurojust.”
Minister O’Callaghan also met with Minister of Citizen Protection, Michalis Chrysochoidis, Minister for Migration and Asylum, Athanasios Plevris and Minister of the Interior, Minister Theodoros Livanios.
Minister O’Callaghan said:
“Greece faces unique migratory challenges. I affirmed Ireland’s support and solidarity with Greece on this. We now have a new EU legislative package in the form of the Pact on Asylum and Migration which will come into force in June.
Solidarity with other EU Member States is a cornerstone of the Migration Pact, with 2027 being the first full year of new, mandatory solidarity measures coming into force.”
Minister O’Callaghan addressed the Irish Embassy’s Annual St. Patrick’s Day Reception at the Ambassador’s Residence in Athens where he focused on Ireland’s upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
In his remarks, the Minister said:
“I am very pleased that, like our most recent 2013 Presidency, Greece is once again part of the Ireland – Lithuania – Greece Trio of Member States that will work collaboratively over an 18-month period to deliver for the 450 million people who live in the EU.
Having just marked 50 years of diplomatic relations between Ireland and Greece, and 50 and 45 years of EU Membership respectively – it is very clear to me that while we sit at very different points on the European map, we have, and will continue to have, much in common.”
In conclusion Minister O’Callaghan thanked Ambassador O’Floinn and her team for their welcome and for organising a very informative and productive St. Patrick’s Day programme of events.
ENDS…///
Notes for editors
- Relations between Greece and Ireland have always been characterised as friendly, with strong cultural connections.
- 2025 marked 50 years of diplomatic relations between Ireland and Greece - https://www.ireland.ie/en/greece/50-years-between-ireland-and-greece/
- The Irish community in Greece is below 5,000 permanent residents. The Embassy works closely with the Greek-Irish Society (a longstanding community organisation) to promote links between Ireland and Greece.
- Greece is consistently among the top tourist destinations for Irish people. 200,000 Irish people visited Greece in 2024, and initial indications are that this figure will have been exceeded in 2025.
- Overall bilateral trade currently sits at around €3 billion - the majority of Irish exports to Greece are medicines/chemical products.
EU Presidency trio preparation
Ireland, Lithuania and Greece will form the EU Presidency trio in the July 2026-December 2027 period (repeating the trio from our Presidency in 2013). High-level engagement is ongoing to determine the trio