Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views on the level of cooperation between him and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment in the north of Ireland. [41603/12]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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North-South economic co-operation is and will remain a priority for myself and the Government. To this end, there is ongoing dialogue between the relevant Ministers North and South in all areas to promote economic development in the Border region. From my own perspective, I attend meetings in the trade and business development sectoral format of the North-South Ministerial Council which are held twice a year. I also attend two meetings each year of the North-South Plenary which are hosted by either the Taoiseach or the First and Deputy First Ministers. At these meetings, there is full engagement with Northern Ministers, particularly at the sectoral meetings where I have face-to-face discussions with my NI counterpart, Ms Arlene Foster MLA, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment, on issues around cross-Border trade and on the work of InterTrade Ireland, the North-South Implementation Body whose remit is to "exchange information and co-ordinate work on trade, business development and related matters in areas where the two administrations specifically agree it would be in their mutual interest". InterTrade Ireland is co-funded by my Department and its counterpart in Northern Ireland. I look forward to meeting Minister Foster again at the next trade and business development sectoral meeting scheduled to be held on 28 November 2012.

My officials engage in ongoing dialogue with their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and keep me informed of all key North-South related issues including the North-South activities of the enterprise development agencies. In fact, there is a long history of co-operative action between North-South enterprise agencies to achieve mutual benefits. The enterprise development agencies North and South of the Border have for many years co-operated where this has added value to their activities, and this collaboration has greatly increased in recent years. Enterprise Ireland, which stimulates the development of indigenous enterprise, has extensive contact with its Northern counterparts and works with them on a range of programmes. IDA Ireland collaborates with Invest Northern Ireland, for example, in the Northwest Now initiative. More recently, there have been very positive developments where a wide range of agencies and institutions now co-operate on science and technology issues, including participation in the EU Research Framework Programme. In addition, my Department provides funding support for enterprise-themed Interreg projects jointly approved with the Northern Ireland Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. Through Interreg, my Department has supported a number of North-South projects, including enterprise networking for the Border counties and Northern Ireland, capacity-building initiatives and several other enterprise development projects. The process of assessing further Interreg projects for joint funding is ongoing. The Government, along with the enterprise development agencies, will continue to work diligently with the Northern Ireland Executive and its agencies to increase the economic benefits accruing from cross-Border co-operation.