British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference
Deputy McDonald welcomed the forthcoming British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference and said it should address the outstanding issues preventing restoration of institutions. The Tánaiste said he was happy to make himself available for pre-conference statements and confirmed the meeting would be held on 25 July.
Kind of. They say the only thing worse than people talking about you is people not talking about you and I take that view. I welcome the Tánaiste back and can see that he is jet-lagged. I am not sure about the sunstroke Deputy Howlin or Deputy Barry was suggesting.
The British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, BIIGC, is to be convened on 25 July. I welcome that fact. As the Tánaiste knows, we have been calling since February for this conference to be convened. It is clear that the focus of the conference now needs to be the outstanding issues that have prevented the re-establishment of the power-sharing institutions in the North, namely, marriage equality, Acht na Gaeilge and legacy issues. The conference will be a lost opportunity if it proves to only be a one-day wonder or a delaying device to do nothing. I ask the Tánaiste to shed some light on what will be the conference's agenda. What items does he foresee it dealing with and will the Government agree to statements in the Dáil next week on the North in advance of the convening of the intergovernmental conference?
Comment on this
First it is a matter for the Business Committee but I am certainly happy to make myself available for statements in advance of that British–Irish Intergovernmental Conference, BIIGC. We have been asking for some time for the convening of a British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference. I think that request had the support of all parties in this House and I thank them for that. There is an agreement to hold that on 25 July. It will be chaired by David Lidington and me. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley, will also be involved, as will our Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan. On the agenda, which has not been finalised, we will certainly see several east-west issues being discussed, particularly around security. Of course we will be discussing issues relating to political instability in Northern Ireland also. It is important that people understand why the BIIGC is significant. This is a structure of the Good Friday Agreement. It does not have the capacity to solve everything. On some issues it is a consultative body, on others it is more than that. We will respond to the opportunities of the BIIGC in a way that is absolutely consistent with the Good Friday Agreement.