I thank the Chairman. I am delighted to be able to join him and his colleagues at this meeting. This is my first appearance before the committee and I am happy to agree to attend the committee again for a wider discussion and to address issues committee members would like to raise. I commend the Chairman on the breadth of work he has undertaken since the committee was established in June and on the ambitious work programme he has set for the committee.
Though we live in challenging times from an economic perspective, it is heartening to look back at this point at the progress that has been achieved in Northern Ireland through the continued implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. The institutions established under the Agreement, including the NSMC, continue to play a vital role that the Government is determined to support and develop.
I have in recent months had the opportunity to meet political leaders from all the main parties in Northern Ireland and I have taken the opportunity to point to the potential benefits that can accrue, North and South, through greater economic co-operation. At a time Administrations, North and South, are trying to manage the delivery of effective public services with constraints on the public finances, I am convinced that closer co-operation can lead to only better results and more cost-effective services for all our people. This theme has characterised the Government's approach in our discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive, in discussions at the NSMC plenary meeting on 10 June, in my meeting with the First Minister and Deputy First Minister at the institutional meeting on 3 October and again at the NSMC plenary on 18 November. I believe the Northern Ireland Executive shares our belief in the benefits that can accrue from closer economic co-operation and is open to considering options for practical co-operation that is mutually beneficial. We will seek to pursue this primarily through the mechanism of the NSMC.
I would like to focus my remarks today on the outcome of the most recent plenary of the council in Armagh, which was hosted by the First Minister and Deputy First Minister on 18 November. This was the 13th plenary and, as these meetings have become part of routine ministerial business in both jurisdictions, the atmosphere and manner in which we conducted our business was cordial and constructive. Since the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly in May 2007, there have been approximately 100 meetings of the council in various formats at plenary, institutional and sectoral level. Since the Government came into office, a total of 16 sectoral meetings have taken place along with a plenary meeting in June and the institutional meeting in October.
The plenary meeting on this occasion was characterised by substantive exchanges on a range of important issues. It was also an opportunity to look ahead at the challenges that face both Administrations and to begin to focus on the priorities for joint action over the next four years. A busy agenda of work is under way and a growing relationship between Ministers North and South, which bodes well for improved co-operation in the future. In addition to the formal plenary meeting, there were also a number of informal bilateral meetings between Ministers which focused on matters of shared interest in sectors such as finance, education and health. In addition, Ministers with similar areas of work were able to continue their discussions over lunch.
The agenda contained a number of specific items which I have been strongly advocating such as the north west gateway initiative, the St. Andrew's Agreement review, tourism issues and the North-South Parliamentary Forum. Other important issues, which did not feature on the formal agenda, were third level education, the costs associated with the duplication of cross-Border services and the agrifood sector. My colleagues in Government at this meeting were uniformly consistent in conveying our wish for closer and deeper co-operation on matters of mutual benefit.
It has become almost an established practice for the opening remarks of the plenary to be dominated by a wide-ranging discussion on economic issues, with a particular focus on the economic challenges faced in both jurisdictions, the constraints imposed on the public finances, the work of NAMA and the banking system. The Northern Ireland Executive referred to the desirability of appointing a Northern Ireland representative to the board of NAMA, the impact of bank recapitalisations on lending in the North and the future of the PEACE and INTERREG programmes. As regards future PEACE funding, the Deputy First Minister made clear the political importance they attached to a future PEACE programme and the importance of securing a new line of EU funding to that end and I assured him we shared this view.
The plenary saw constructive discussion between Ministers, North and South, on these issues, including a clear presentation from the Executive of the impact in Northern Ireland of the decisions taken on NAMA and the impact of bank lending policy by our two pillar banks on business in the North. The Minister for Education and Skills raised the need to address third level education to meet emerging challenges, particularly in the wake of the increase in fees in Britain. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine underlined the opportunities for greater cooperation in the agrifood sector while the Minister for Health referred to the agreement by the two Ambulance Services on a memorandum of understanding to provide for cross-Border assistance in the event of major incidents and the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport indicated the potential of joint action in the tourism sector, particularly around upcoming commemorative events.
There was a discussion about the difficulties being experienced by schools in Border areas and it was noted that the two education Ministers would undertake a survey to review the sustainability of rural primary schools in the Border region. There was strong interest in the joint secretaries' progress report, in particular, on issues regarding collaboration to maximise drawdown of EU funds from the FP7 research and development programme as well as the potential for co-operation on future EU programmes. A critical aspect for this State and Northern Ireland will be the outcome of the discussions being embarked upon to determine the future shape and scope of the EU budget. The reform of the Common Agricultural Policy is a key issue for us and my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, made it clear he would be happy to maintain close co-operation with his colleagues in Northern Ireland and to take account of their concerns in the negotiations.
There was a positive response at this meeting to the proposal to have Northern Ireland officials seconded to the Civil Service for the upcoming EU Presidency. The Deputy First Minister acknowledged the mutual benefits that would accrue from such secondments and he confirmed that they were ready to assist us in our Presidency role.
While the North-South bodies have a clear operational remit and operate on an all-island basis, all of their work comes under the overall policy direction of the NSMC, with clear accountability lines to the council, the Oireachtas and the Northern Ireland Assembly. The important step of appointing members to the boards of the North-South bodies was taken. This was done in a co-ordinated manner with our northern counterparts and will ensure the continued smooth running of these bodies when the current board members finish their terms of office in December.
Our discussions on tourism recognised the very important role that tourism does and can play in the economy that exists for tourism North and South. We emphasised Tourism Ireland is playing a valuable role in economic recovery on the island and we want to work closely with the Executive to ensure this potential is fulfilled. The council discussed the significant contribution that tourism can make to the economy and opportunities to work together. Ministers highlighted the success of the MTV EMA awards and the associated tourism benefits for Belfast. The council explored opportunities to work together to boost the tourism industry and maximise the benefit of forthcoming initiatives in both jurisdictions such as NI 2012, which includes the Titanic centenary, the Derry-Londonderry city of culture in 2013 and “The Gathering”, a year-long programme of events in 2013 driven by arts, sports, business and community groups. The Ministers, Deputy Varadkar and Ms Foster, MLA, will be continuing their discussions at their next NSMC tourism meeting.
On infrastructural issues, we had a discussion the A5-A8 road project. The council noted progress on the A5, north-west gateway to Aughnacloy, and A8, Belfast to Larne, projects and agreed that payment of £3 million will be made by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund, in accordance with the agreed procedure. However, the deferral of the Irish contribution to the project has naturally aroused concern. As those present will appreciate, and as we conveyed to our colleagues at the plenary meeting, the decision to defer our financial support to this project was not taken lightly by the Government and it must be seen in the context of the other major capital projects that had to be either postponed or cancelled. We reiterated our commitment to the project albeit on a longer timescale than originally envisaged. We confirmed the Government will provide £25 million per annum in 2015 and 2016 towards the project. Officials will now prepare a new funding and implementation plan for the projects for agreement at the next NSMC transport sectoral meeting with endorsement at the next NSMC plenary meeting. We recognise the importance of the A5 road to the further development of the north west and I know Northern Ministers appreciated the assurances we were able to offer them as regards future funding for this project.
We also took note of the introduction, on 28 January 2010, of the mutual recognition of driver disqualifications between Ireland and the United Kingdom and continuing work on the longer-term objective of mutual recognition of penalty points. Also on the theme of road safety, work continues on a co-ordinated approach to reducing permitted blood-alcohol levels in both jurisdictions. Taken altogether, these measures will contribute greatly to enhanced road safety on the island.
At the plenary meeting, we also considered progress on the St. Andrews Agreement review of North-South bodies and areas of co-operation. On the review we took note that the recommendations of the panel of experts and advisers, and future NSMC ministerial meetings are now tasked with discussing those recommendations of the review which were considered worthy of further consideration. This will be with a view to decisions being taken at the next NSMC plenary meeting in June 2012. These recommendations were on the first term of reference of the review, the efficiency and value for money of existing North-South implementation bodies and Tourism Ireland. We also agreed a way forward on the other elements of the review, namely, to examine objectively the case for additional bodies and areas of co-operation within the NSMC where mutual benefit would be derived; and input into the work on the identification of a suitable substitute for the proposed lights agency of the Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission. This will include consultation within the Executive and within the Irish Government, and possibly through the NSMC with final proposals to be agreed at the NSMC plenary meeting in June 2012.
The establishment of the North-South consultative forum has been discussed at all plenary meetings since May 2007. We submitted our ideas to the Executive on the role a North-South consultative forum might play in advising on social, economic and cultural issues with a cross-Border dimension and we had hoped for some positive feedback on them. In our discussion on this issue the Northern Ireland First Minister, Mr. Robinson, MLA, made it clear that the present financial constraints under which they are all operating greatly limited what could be done as regards the forum. I stressed that any proposals to take the forum forward would, of course, be considered in the most cost-effective way and that we remain keen to engage with them on this issue. Clearly the lack of progress on this matter is a disappointment but we will be coming back to this at our next meeting where we hope to finalise deliberations on this issue.
The North-South parliamentary forum is, of course, primarily a matter for the Oireachtas and the Northern Ireland Assembly. I understand that considerable progress has been made in recent months between the Ceann Comhairle and his Northern counterpart, William Hay, MLA, with a further joint meeting of the working groups of the Oireachtas and the Northern Ireland Assembly planned for 15 December 2011 to discuss issues raised on the role and arrangements for the parliamentary forum. There are encouraging signs that we may see the establishment of the forum soon and I know everyone here appreciates the advantages to parliamentarians that can spring from parliamentarians, North and South, coming together to consider the ever-increasing range of issues of mutual concern.
I am glad to say that we made progress at our meeting on getting a greater focus on the north-west region at the NSMC. I first made the suggestion to have a cross-sectoral meeting at ministerial level on the north-west gateway initiative at the institutional meeting in October. It was agreed at the plenary meeting that the NSMC joint secretariat would convene a meeting of officials from relevant Departments in both jurisdictions, who in turn will consult their Ministers, with a view to a progress report being presented to the NSMC institutional meeting in spring 2012. While the decision at the plenary meeting is for an official level meeting, I see this as being a step in the right direction.
North-South co-operation is important to the future development of the island of Ireland. The outcome from our plenary meeting in Armagh gives me confidence that we can continue to progress this important work jointly by Ministers from both jurisdictions across a range of sectors.
On a final note, members of the committee will wish to be aware that the next plenary meeting is scheduled to take place on 15 June 2012. It was also agreed that I will meet the Northern Ireland First and Deputy First Ministers in the spring to prepare those discussions. I would, of course, be happy to meet members again at a suitable date in the future to brief them on developments at the NSMC.
I am very grateful for members' attention and I would be happy to answer any questions on the plenary meeting and indeed on other Northern Ireland related issues which may be of interest or concern to members of the committee.
