Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 March 2014
39. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will provide an update on details of any meeting or planned meetings he or his Department will have with his Northern Assembly counterpart. [10600/14]
View answerI can assure the Deputy of my continuing commitment to deepening and enhancing North/South cooperation, particularly in the context of the Good Friday Agreement and the St. Andrews Agreement. As the Deputy will be aware, my Department funds two of the six North South Implementation Bodies established under the 1999 British-Irish Agreement. These are Waterways Ireland and An Foras Teanga (which comprises two agencies - Foras na Gaeilge and the Ulster-Scots Agency/Tha Boord o Ulstèr-Scotch). I, along with the Minister of State at my Department, Mr. Dinny McGinley, T.D., participate regularly in meetings of the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) in both the Waterways and Language sectoral formats. I can advise the Deputy that the next planned meeting with my Northern Ireland counterpart, Minister Caral Ni Chuilín, MLA, will be at the NSMC in both the Waterways and Language sectoral formats in April 2014. Minister of State McGinley will also be participating.
