Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 375: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs 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. [34213/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The North-South unit of my Department continuously seeks opportunities for strengthening links with Northern Ireland and pursues a number of issues with the Northern Ireland administration with the objective of promoting effective protection of the social security rights and other forms of social protection of cross-border workers and their families. Contacts include exchanges on the main developments in the area of social protection, co-operation in the prevention and detection of cross-border fraud and the co-ordination and administration of EU regulations governing the social security rights of cross-border workers. My Department has also been involved, in partnership with the Department of Social Development and the Social Security Agency in Northern Ireland, in hosting information seminars to provide frontline staff with the level of information needed to promote and increase benefit uptake within both jurisdictions. As a joint venture with the Department of Social Development my Department has, for a number of years, also been involved in hosting the social welfare summer school which provides staff in both Departments with an opportunity to study specific social policy themes in an academic setting. The summer school is held on alternate years in Trinity College, Dublin, and Queen's University, Belfast.

In line with the Government's commitment to driving forward practical North-South co-operation to the mutual benefit of people on both parts of the island my Department is currently involved in the development of a portal website dedicated to the provision of links to a wide range of reliable information on such matters as social services, pension rights, taxation, etc. for people who wish to move in either direction between North and South on the island of Ireland. As Minister, I am personally committed to progressing the proposal in the programme for Government to introduce an all-Ireland travel pass which will enable existing free travel pass holders resident on the island of Ireland to undertake travel free of charge in all parts of the island. In this regard I recently met with Mr. Shaun Woodward MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office. The issue was also raised at the British-Irish Council, and by the Taoiseach with Prime Minister Blair. In addition, officials from my Department have regular meetings with their counterparts in the Department of Regional Development in relation to the technical requirements for commencing the introduction of the proposed scheme.