Full and timely implementation of the Fresh Start Agreement is a key priority for the Government and this is reflected by its inclusion in the new Programme for Government. The Government continues to work closely with all relevant stakeholders in this regard.
Progress on implementing the provisions of both the Fresh Start and Stormont House Agreements are considered at periodic review meetings. These are attended by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the First and deputy First Ministers and, where relevant to her portfolio, the Northern Ireland Minister for Justice. I represent the Government at these meetings. The last review was held on 29 June 2016, and the next meeting has been scheduled for 14 December.
There has been sustained progress with the implementation of the Fresh Start Agreement over the last year, with each administration actively pursuing the necessary work to fulfil the respective commitments.
Together with the Minister for Justice and Equality, I hosted a trilateral ministerial meeting on enhancing law enforcement co-operation on the island, as envisaged by the Fresh Start Agreement, in Farmleigh on 21 December 2015. This meeting, which included the two Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive, also launched the Joint Agency Task Force on cross-border crime.
The Joint Agency Task Force quickly became fully operational and is progressing its work to tackle cross-jurisdictional organised crime and bring to justice those involved in it. The Task Force builds on existing operational arrangements to tackle organised crime, including that linked to paramilitarism, on a cross-border basis. The Task Force reports on its work to the two Justice Ministers within the framework of their regular meetings under the Inter-Governmental Agreement on Criminal Justice Co-operation, as provided for in the Fresh Start Agreement.
The Government is meetings its commitments as regards infrastructure projects under the Fresh Start Agreement. This includes a contribution of €25 million from the Irish Government in 2019 for the upgrading of the A5 Western Transport Corridor road project, which is in addition to the €50 million previously committed. The Government’s committed funding of €2.5 million to the North West Development Fund has been provided and is to be matched by the NI Executive. Discussions are continuing at senior official level with the Northern Ireland Executive regarding co-operation on other infrastructure projects, including the Narrow Water Bridge project and the Ulster Canal and exploring financing options for future border infrastructure projects.
As provided for in Fresh Start, a three-person Panel was appointed in December to recommend the elements of a strategy for the disbandment of paramilitary groups. This panel, comprising Lord John Alderdice, Monica McWilliams, and John McBurney, made over forty recommendations. The Northern Ireland Executive updated the June review meeting on its then draft Action Plan to take these recommendations forward. In July, the Northern Ireland Executive published its Action Plan on Tackling Paramilitary Activity, Criminality and Organised Crime.
The Northern Ireland Executive is committed to carrying out research into the social costs and implications of paramilitarism; to undertake a public awareness campaign on the harms done by paramilitarism and organised crime; and to report on efforts to tackle paramilitarism which will be linked to wider cross-Departmental and statutory agency work programmes aimed at reducing community divisions and the causes of sectarianism.
On 13 September, I signed an international agreement with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to establish the Independent Reporting Commission (IRC). The Fresh Start Agreement provides that the IRC will report annually on progress towards ending continuing paramilitary activity connected with Northern Ireland. These reports will inform future Northern Ireland Executive Programme for Government commitments through to 2021. The Government will shortly bring forward legislative proposals before the Oireachtas to establish the IRC in law. The aim is to get the IRC established and up and running as soon as possible.
The NI Executive and the British Government are also proceeding with implementation of their respective commitments under the Fresh Start Agreement. The Executive signed off on the 2016-17 Budget last December and the Welfare Bill implementing the relevant provisions in the Agreement passed into UK law on 25 November 2015. The UK Treasury has also approved the release of monies from the Stormont House Agreement funding to support integrated education.
The institutional reforms provided for under the Fresh Start Agreement have also been implemented, including the reduction in the number of Executive Ministries from 12 to 9 and the option for parties entitled to a place in the Executive to instead designate as part of the formal opposition in the Assembly. This option was taken up by both the UUP and SDLP following the Assembly election last May.
In June, the Co-Chairs and members of the Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition Commission were appointed by the Northern Ireland Executive and the Commission is now progressing its work, as foreseen in the Stormont House Agreement and reiterated in Fresh Start.
With regard to the establishment of a framework for dealing with the legacy of the past, as envisaged in the Stormont House Agreement but on which final agreement could not be reached during the Fresh Start Agreement talks, the Government remains committed to the full implementation of these commitments.
I am continuing to engage with the Secretary of State and with the Northern Ireland Executive and other parties in Northern Ireland, to see how we can to find a route to a final agreement on legacy issues. While there remain a number of outstanding issues, there is an urgent need to achieve progress - so that the institutions can be established and start working to meet the needs of victims and survivors and support broader societal healing and reconciliation. I am therefore working to secure the necessary political agreement to get the legacy bodies established and up and running as soon as possible.
