TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar is to be the keynote speaker at today's Alliance Party conference.
The Fine Gael leader is to meet business groups in Belfast to hear their views on the latest Brexit developments and the ongoing political impasse at Stormont.
He will address the Alliance conference dinner late tonight.
It will be the last conference by a northern party before the UK leaves the European Union on March 29.
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Mr Varadkar's appearance comes after his political rivals Fianna Fáil entered into a formal link with the SDLP.
In 2012, Simon Coveney became the first senior Irish minister to speak at the DUP's annual conference.
Mr Coveney was then agriculture minister. He is now Tánaiste and minister for foreign affairs.
