Vol. 512 No. 6
59 Caoimhghin Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Finance the consultations, if any, he has had with the British authorities in relation to the common chapter on North-South development in the National Development Plan 2000-2006; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24290/99]
This chapter is common to the National Development Plan, 2000-2006, for Ireland and to its Northern Ireland equivalent. It seeks to set out a strategic framework for building on and developing economic co-operation between both parts of the island. In doing so it has built extensively on the framework of co-operation set out in the common chapter provisions of the current national development plan and taken full account of the areas of co-operation set out under the Belfast Good Friday Agreement. The drafting of the Common Chapter was entrusted to the relevant officials in my Department and the Department of Finance and Personnel in Northern Ireland. They engaged in a wide-ranging series of bilateral consultations with the sectoral departments and other relevant socio-economic interest groups. This consultation process included a specific conference involving relevant departments North and South, held in Enniskillen in September last.
The two finance Departments were in daily contact throughout the entire drafting period, and I understand that the Deputy's party featured among those briefed on progress during that period.
