Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 June 2014
26. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the issues discussed at his recent meeting with the Northern Ireland Secretary of State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24069/14]
View answerOn 29 May 2014, I met with Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Theresa Villiers in Dublin.We discussed developments in the Northern Ireland Party Leaders’ talks. We agreed that the coming weeks will be a crucial period in ensuring progress. The Secretary of State and I encouraged Party Leaders to do everything possible to take these matters forward. At our meeting we expressed our respective Governments’ commitment to actively supporting the talks. We discussed the important work of the International Fund for Ireland, the situation in prisons in Northern Ireland, and the funding of Protestant schools in Ireland. We also discussed our concerns ahead of the upcoming parading season.
I again raised the matter of the British government granting access to information related to the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. The Secretary of State assured me that she will reflect afresh on what the British Government can do to respond to this request.
