Vol. 500 No. 5
19 Mr. Ferris asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs when the British-Irish Council, provided for in the Good Friday Agreement, will be established; when the first meeting will be held; when the Anglo-Irish secretariat in Maryfield will be closed; the plans, if any, there are for redeployment of staff serving there; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4359/99]
The establishment of the British-Irish Council, along with the North-South Ministerial Council, the implementation bodies, the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference and the devolution of legislative and executive powers to the Assembly, will take place at the same time as the entry into force of the British-Irish Agreement.
It is the hope of the two Governments that, once present difficulties regarding decommissioning and the establishment of the shadow Executive are resolved, all the necessary arrangements for the entry into force of the British-Irish Agreement can be rapidly completed, and the first meetings of the British-Irish Council, and the other institutions, can take place.
The location of the Anglo-Irish Secretariat at Maryfield has been closed, and the secretariat and its staff transferred to new premises in the centre of Belfast.
