Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 51: To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will provide update on the North-South meetings and other engagements he has had with his counterpart from the Northern Assembly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29861/11]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Since my appointment as Minister, I have met with my counterpart, Ms Carál Ní Chuilín, MLA, Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure, on a number of occasions, both formally and informally.

The Deputy will, of course, be aware that my Department and the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure co-fund and co-sponsor two North-South Implementation bodies. These are Waterways Ireland and An Foras Teanga (comprising Foras na Gaeilge and the Ulster Scots Agency/Tha Boord o Ulstèr- Scotch). The Deputy will also be aware that there are a number of functional areas that come within the ambit of my Department that also come within the ambit of the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure in Northern Ireland, including responsibility for arts, culture, museums and galleries, language and commemorations. Indeed, officials of my Department are currently exploring with their colleagues in the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure potential mechanisms to enhance co-operation across all of these areas.

The most recent formal meeting between Minister Ní Chuilín and myself was at the NSMC Inland Waterways and Language sectoral meetings on 12 October last, directly following which we attended an event to launch the 18th William Kennedy Piping Festival in Armagh. The Deputy will be aware from previous replies to Parliamentary Questions that I also met Minister Ní Chuilín at the NSMC Inland Waterways and Language sectoral meetings on 7 July 2011.

In addition, I met Minister Ní Chuilín on National Famine Commemoration Day, which was held in Clones, Co. Monaghan on 10 September 2011, and also in the context of a recent Waterways Ireland Conference in Dublin Castle on 14 September 2011. We also met at the unveiling of newly installed artwork at the NSMC offices in Armagh on 28 September last. I should say that both Deputy Dinny McGinley, Minister of State at my Department, and myself have separately met Minister Ní Chuilín on a range of issues in Belfast. The next scheduled formal meeting between Minister Ní Chuilín and myself will take place on 7 November 2011.