Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 315: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources if he will report on the work of the North-South unit in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34209/05]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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The North-South unit of my Department has responsibility for the co-ordination of and reporting on ongoing work to strengthen North-South co-operation across the sectoral policy areas of telecommunications, energy, broadcasting, fisheries, maritime transport and maritime safety. The unit represents the Department at the Interdepartmental North-South groups chaired by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

My Department's wide-ranging North-South co-operation programme includes joint oversight of the Loughs Agency, one of the North-South bodies established under the British Irish Agreement Act 1999; the development of regulatory co-operation between the regulators, ComReg and Ofcom, in the communications area; co-operation in marine search and rescue between the Irish Coastguard and the Northern Ireland Maritime and Coastguard Agency; the creation within the all-island energy market development framework of an all-island wholesale electricity market by 2007; the progressing of North-South energy infrastructural projects; and the development of an all-island sustainable and renewable energy strategy.