Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste for sharing her time. The Minister, Deputy Flanagan will set out to the House the developments regarding the all-party talks in Belfast in which he and I have been involved over the past several weeks.

Beyond the talks, the work to deliver a reconciled and peaceful Northern Ireland as part of a prosperous and inclusive island of Ireland continues every day across Government. Nowhere is this more evident than in our work to promote and develop North-South co-operation. Through this work, we are building the lasting relationships between North and South which will help to copperfasten peace and stability and deliver prosperity for all our people. The success of North-South bodies like Tourism Ireland and InterTradeIreland demonstrate what can be achieved when we pool our resources in key strategic areas. Building on these successes is now our focus.

In line with the Stormont House Agreement, a report on new economically-focused priorities was brought to the North-South Ministerial Council this year. Priority areas of co-operation for the Government include higher level education, agri-food, energy, climate change, creative industries, sport and other joint initiatives. The overarching aim is to ensure the most effective use of scarce public funds on both sides of the Border to promote economic growth and create jobs in all our communities. The Government’s commitment to North-South economic co-operation therefore remains a priority.

As the Taoiseach has stated, the recently announced infrastructure and capital investment plan has a dedicated section on North-South infrastructure. In the Stormont House Agreement, the Government agreed to a financial package to support North-South work programmes as well as measures to promote reconciliation and INTERREG programmes, including the concept of the Narrow Water Bridge project and developing the Ulster canal.

In this agreement, we also reaffirmed our commitment to provide £25 million in 2015 and 2016 to the A5 project. This was the source of some discussions in Stormont as late as yesterday.

Research and innovation, one of the key drivers of economic growth and employment, has been a key area for North-South co-operation. For instance, the development of the North West Regional Science Park, co-located in Derry and Letterkenny, has delivered new hubs for the development of innovative businesses, creating jobs and strengthening the cross-Border links which are so vital to the economic development of the Border region. There has been very good progress to date in terms of North-South collaboration under the EU's €80 billion research and innovation Horizon 2020 programme, which was negotiated during the Irish Presidency. The first year has delivered over €19 million of EU funding to support North-South projects. We need now to build on the excellent collaborative progress to date and to work on our allied strengths in areas such as ICT, health and agri-food research to create and deliver more successful partnership projects.

The expansion of Science Foundation Ireland's remit to fund researchers in the North will enable further work together on an all-island basis and will create a further leveraging opportunity. North-South co-operation also brings real day-to-day benefits to people on both sides of the Border. For example, when open next summer, the £50 million radiotherapy unit at Derry's Altnagelvin Hospital will provide access to radiotherapy services to over a half million people across the north-west region, sharing services and maximising limited resources. This co-operation also extends to the field of sport. As one Rugby World Cup ends, we look forward to 2023 when, hopefully, Ireland will be hosting this great tournament on an all-island basis. This joint North-South bid has tremendous potential to drive tourism. Speaking personally, I am hopeful that all of the stadia will be ready when the time comes. I refer to Páirc Uí Chaoimh in that respect.

It is clear that North-South co-operation is crucial and indeed a central plank of the Good Friday Agreement. I hope we continue to fulfil our obligations both North and South in respect of the North-South Ministerial Council. I welcome the announcement by the Taoiseach of a date for Armagh. It is important all political persuasions would sign up to that and that the Executive in all its forms would ensure that we continue to give that the energy it deserves. The current political difficulties should not get in the way of vitally important North-South co-operation. Now that DUP ministers have returned to their desks in Stormont, I hope the North-South Ministerial Council can resume its work, which has delivered so much benefit for citizens across the island. Whatever the difficulties, this Government will continue to work to support North-South cooperation and to help unlock the full potential of the island society and economy.

See this speech in context