Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 to 10, inclusive, together.

I attended the 13th Summit of the British Irish Council, BIC, in Jersey on Friday 13 November last. The meeting was hosted by the Chief Minister of Jersey, Mr. Terry la Seuer, and was attended by BIC Heads of Administration, including Mr. Peter Hain, Secretary of State for Wales; Mr.Alex Salmond, Scottish First Minister; Mr. Rhodri Morgan, Welsh First Minister; and the First and Deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland, Mr. Peter Robinson and Mr. Martin McGuinness.

Issues for discussion included the economic situation and steps that Administrations are taking to address the difficulties we are all facing, language issues and how all eight Administrations deal with the issue of lesser used languages and the steps they are taking to promote and preserve language in their jurisdictions, the location of a Standing Secretariat of the Council and renewable energy matters. The next BIC summit will take place in Guernsey in June of next year.

While attending the British-Irish Council, I took the opportunity to have bilateral meetings with First Minister, Mr. Peter Robinson, and Deputy First Minister, Mr. Martin McGuinness. Our discussions focused on the devolution of policing and justice, the process that was under way and the need for early progress. I also subsequently met on Saturday, 28 November with Deputy First Minister, Mr. Martin McGuinness, to discuss these matters further. I met with the British Prime Minister, Mr. Gordon Brown, on Monday 30 November to discuss progress in Northern Ireland. Both Governments are agreed on the importance of the full implementation of the Good Friday and St. Andrew's Agreements and firmly believe that the early completion of the devolution of policing and justice is necessary to consolidate the functioning of the devolved institutions and to complete the transformation of policing in Northern Ireland. This is an essential part of the St. Andrew's Agreement, which is the basis on which all parties have moved forward. It is a serious issue and one which must be resolved in the coming weeks. The Prime Minister, Mr. Brown, and I are available to help, but the parties must also work to secure the necessary progress.

I met with Mr. Mark Durkan, MP, MLA., leader of the SDLP, on Monday last when we discussed these issues. I met with Sir Reg Empey, MLA, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, on 11 November for discussions also.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs continues to meet with the Secretary of State on a regular basis. They met again last night and our officials are also in regular contact. I met with the British Prime Minister at the European Council on Thursday, 10 December last. I will also see the Prime Minister again in Copenhagen later this week.

I also met with the First and Deputy First Ministers at the ninth plenary meeting of the North South Ministerial Council which took place on Monday last in Limavady. At the meeting we had detailed discussions on the economic situation and how North-South co-operation can play its part in economic recovery, in particular, how we can develop co-operation in the delivery of public services, to develop efficiencies and improve services.

The Minister for Finance updated our Northern colleagues on the establishment of NAMA. We had positive engagement on all sides on a range of North-South items. In particular, the NSMC welcomed continued progress on roads, with the Dublin to Belfast road to be completed on schedule next year and contracts now awarded on the north-west route.

I reported on the first North-South consultative conference held in October last. The plenary noted that there would be a follow-up event in the spring.

The Council welcomed the agreement by the Ceann Comhairle and the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly to hold a North-South parliamentary conference. The Council also welcomed the Government's decision to lift the pause on capital funding for the Middletown Centre for Autism. The Council looked forward to the commencement of interim capital works on site in Middletown consistent with the development plan as soon as possible.

While in the north west I met with members of the Bloody Sunday Trust to discuss issues around the publication of the Saville report into the events of Bloody Sunday, which is expected in the coming months.

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