Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I share Deputy Eamon Ryan's frustration and concern as we approach the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, which was a transformative agreement for many people in Northern Ireland that laid the foundation for a peace process that has taken hold in the past two decades and resulted in the creation of an invisible border on the island of Ireland, a border we are seeking to protect from Brexit. The agreement has, at times, brought together political parties and communities that would otherwise have been polarised and divided. That said, there remains much work to be done, inspired, I hope, by the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement and using its structures to ensure that we can solve the current problems and impasse in terms of the lack of a devolved government at Stormont. Devolved government is a central piece of the Good Friday Agreement in terms of ensuring it works to facilitate structured North-South co-operation and devolved decision-making in Northern Ireland. In its absence, the Irish and British Governments regularly discuss how we will find a way forward to get devolved government back up and running because that is the only credible answer to how politics should function in Northern Ireland.

When this issue was last raised - I believe it was Deputy Eamon Ryan who raised it - I made the point that I had, in conversation, asked the Secretary of State, Ms Karen Bradley, to think about convening a British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference at ministerial level. I will speak to the Secretary of State on the matter this week. At the time, she indicated she wanted to reflect on the matter, which was a reasonable response because any decision one makes has consequences and triggers reactions, responses and so on. I do not have a formal update for the Deputy. However, I will speak to the Secretary of State this week and we will see how things progress from there.

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