Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference is a vital strand 3 body. In light of the absence of an Executive and an Assembly in Northern Ireland for the past year and a half, and given the issues surrounding Brexit, the conference is of importance and significance as a formal mechanism for co-operation between the Irish and British Governments. The Good Friday Agreement provides that, "In recognition of the Irish Government’s special interest in Northern Ireland and of the extent to which issues of mutual concern arise in relation to Northern Ireland, there will be regular and frequent meetings of the Conference concerned with non-devolved Northern Ireland matters, on which the Irish Government may put forward views and proposals." Even though this is an important element of the Good Friday Agreement, the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference has not met and there has been no Executive or Assembly in Stormont since early 2017. Surely it is time for the conference to meet.

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