A Conservative MP has called on Ireland to join the Commonwealth.
During a debate in the House of Commons on the topic of St Patrick's Day and Northern Irish Affairs, Andrew Rosindell told MPs that "Ireland would do well to emulate countries such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand" by choosing to "take their rightful place in the family of the Commonwealth of Nations".
He said that this would take the "deep neighbourly" relationship between Ireland and the UK to "the next level", adding that it would be of "benefit to global politics".
Mr Rosindell also suggested that St Patrick's Day should be made a bank holiday in the UK, adding that the day should be acknowledged with "gravitas".
The Romford MP said there should be a bank holiday for "all the other feast days" in the UK, such as St George's Day.
Telling the House of Commons that St Patrick was the patron saint of the island of Ireland, not just the Republic, he said that making it a bank holiday in the UK would "reinforce the importance of all four corners of our nation".
This afternoon's debate also saw MPs praise the contribution of Irish immigrants to the UK.
Labour MP and chair of the party's Irish Society, Liam Conlon, pointed out that there are more Irish staff in the NHS than from any other European country and that "London-Irish did as much as any community to build this great city".
"Irish navvies dug the underground and then Irish construction workers rebuilt our city after the war," he said.
"Lá fhéile Pádraig shona daoibh," Mr Conlon told the House of Commons.
Opening the debate, Labour MP Adam Jogee, chair of the Irish in Britain all party group, said the cross-party support for the debate was testament to the close bond between the UK and Ireland.
He paid tribute to the Irish diplomat Michael Lonergan who will complete his term later this year.
Former Northern Ireland secretary, Karen Bradley, echoed those comments, telling the house that Mr Lonergan was a "stalwart" in terms of strengthening UK-Irish relations.
Separately, the leader of the TUV, Jim Allister, accused former taoiseach Leo Varadkar of "partitioning" the UK during the Brexit negotiations by insisting "on the border being pushed where the IRA could never push it".
SNP MP Seamus Logan said that he didn't "recall some of the accusations" that Mr Allister made "about the role of the Irish government in terms of the negotiations that followed the Brexit vote".
