Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste for those replies. It has been said that there is going to be ambition as to how bilateral co-operation is maintained and strengthened post Brexit. The Tánaiste might outline how that will work. Are we considering a model like the Nordic Council of Ministers? How would the joint funding of projects go ahead etc.? How would EU rules be involved in that, or has any discussion taken place about that, from an Irish perspective?

The Tánaiste said the UK and Irish Governments reaffirmed their shared commitment to securing the operations of the devolved power-sharing Executive in the North.

It has been 680 days. Was there any discussion about any way in which we can, on some level, limp forward with this? Finally, it was agreed that the conference would meet again in the spring of 2019. Is there a lack of urgency in this? Should it not be meeting more regularly? From memory, the minimum under the Good Friday Agreement is two meetings a year. That is all that is being adhered to at the moment. Should there be more, particularly as we move into a post-Brexit situation, or is this covered by the new format which the Minister outlined and which will be set up in the future?

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