Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

Arising from the Good Friday Agreement, six North-South Implementation Bodies and Tourism Ireland were established. These bodies play a significant role in taking forward North-South co-operation on the island. The North-South Implementation Bodies are jointly funded by the Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. Funding from each jurisdiction is provided on an agreed proportionate basis having regard to the benefits accruing to each jurisdiction and specific factors related to each sector.

The funding of the individual bodies is a matter for the responsible Department in each case. Total funding for the bodies from both jurisdictions from 2001 until 2006 amounted to €842.3 million. In 2006, Government funding for the bodies was €116.5 million, which was 69.45% of total funding provided that year.

Having operated in a somewhat difficult climate during suspension, restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive and the resumption of full operations of the North-South Ministerial Council means there is now scope for the Implementation Bodies to achieve their full potential. Since the re-establishment of the Northern Ireland Executive, Ministers have had a range of extremely useful and productive meetings with their Northern counterparts, both in the North-South Ministerial Council and in other contacts. I attended the plenary meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council in Armagh in July — the first in five years. The meeting was positive, with open and constructive discussion on the potential for economic co-operation to bring real benefits to the people of this island, North and South.

The plenary meeting resulted in several important decisions. We agreed a major roads infrastructure programme to include the upgrade of the road serving the North-west gateway of Derry-Letterkenny, supported by Government investment of €580 million. We also agreed on the restoration of the Ulster Canal from Clones to Lough Erne. This project will be a major boost to the Border counties of Cavan, Monaghan and Fermanagh. We also discussed various other projects, including the Government's support for a bridge at Narrow Water linking Counties Louth and Down to the benefit of tourism in the region.

A further plenary meeting, to be co-chaired by the Taoiseach and the First and Deputy First Ministers and attended by other Ministers, is planned for Dundalk before Christmas. I will host an institutional meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council in Dundalk on 30 October. In addition, a programme of 11 sectoral ministerial meetings is already under way and will be completed before the end of the year.

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