Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Meetings with the ministerial team at the Northern Ireland Office, NIO, and the British ambassador in Dublin occur regularly in the context of the centenary commemorative programme and other areas of common and shared interest.

Most recently, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Deenihan, visited the Houses of Parliament at Westminster on 16 January for a commemoration co-hosted with the Northern Ireland Office Minister, Mike Penning, MP, on the centenary of the second reading in the House of Commons of the Third Home Rule Bill. The Minister welcomed this opportunity to discuss the continuing development of the commemorative programme with the Minister and, subsequently, with several British and Irish current and former Members of Parliament.

That afternoon, at the Embassy of Ireland, the Minister met the Minister for International Security Strategy, Dr. Andrew Murrison, MP, and several of the organisations and institutions involved in the preparation of the British commemorative programme for the centenary of the First World War.

During 2012, the Minister was pleased, on behalf of the Government, to lead on and participate in a very significant decade of centenaries programme. Some of the highlights included the NIO exhibition panels on the Third Home Rule Bill, displayed at Westminster in February and thereafter in the Oireachtas and the National Library of Ireland; a conference on the Ulster Covenant organised by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland at Belfast City Hall, which the Minister addressed; memorial lectures on the work of John Redmond and the Irish Parliamentary Party presented in association with Waterford City Council; the Carson memorial lecture in Dublin by the Northern Ireland First Minister, Peter Robinson, on reflections on Irish Unionism; a major exhibition at the Hugh Lane Gallery related to the Third Home Rule Bill, which the Minister opened; supplements in The Irish Times, supported by my Department and circulated to all primary and post-primary schools; and the display of exhibition panels at Waterford Museum of Treasures on Redmond and the Home Rule movement.

There was also ongoing engagement with the all-party Oireachtas group on commemorations, as well as continued engagement with the Manning committee. In addition, preparations for the decade of commemorations website are advancing and the Minister will launch this formally in the coming weeks.

The Minister appreciates very much the support and association of the British Ministers and the ambassador with our commemorative programme for the decade of centenaries. The events of the years 1912 to 1922 are the shared heritage of both the British and the Irish. The contribution of each is very valuable as we seek to achieve a comprehensive and inclusive commemorative framework that will enhance the understanding of these tumultuous years.

The issues relating to the flying of the flag at Belfast City Hall have not featured directly in the Minister's formal discussions and exchanges with Ministers, public representatives and others in recent times. However, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade discussed the recent flag protests on 17 January with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the First Minister and Deputy First Minister and reviewed developments towards calming the situation. The two Governments reaffirmed their commitment to support the efforts of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to resolve the current crisis and work closely together to identify ways to address not just the current crisis but its underlying causes.

See this speech in context