I have met Ministers from the Northern Ireland administration on a number of occasions, under the auspices of the North South Ministerial Council to discuss matters of mutual interest, including the development of the Dublin-Belfast service. The next meeting is scheduled to take place on 16 April 2014 and I anticipate that, in line with previous meetings, matters relating to the Dublin-Belfast rail line will be discussed.
The Dublin-Belfast rail line is one of the key rail lines on the island of Ireland as it links Ireland's two largest conurbations. Following the decision not to allocate INTERREG co-funding to the Narrow Water Bridge project, officials in both administrations, together with the Special European Programmes Body, have been working to identify suitable replacement projects, including on the Dublin-Belfast rail line, to ensure that the INTERREG funding involved is not lost to the island.