Written answers

Wednesday, 13 March 2013

Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

North-South Ministerial Council

Photo of Seán FlemingSeán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will provide an update on cross border work with the North-South Ministerial Council in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12997/13]

Photo of Jimmy DeenihanJimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) was established to develop consultation, co-operation and action within the island of Ireland - including through implementation on an all-island and cross-border basis - on matters of mutual interest and within the competence of the Administrations, North and South. The NSMC comprises Ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Government, working together to take forward co-operation between both parts of the island to mutual benefit.

Six North-South Implementation Bodies have been established. They operate under the overall policy direction of the NSMC, with clear accountability lines back to the Council and to the Oireachtas and the Northern Ireland Assembly. In that regard, my own Department and the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure in Northern Ireland together have a specific role in relation to two of these Implementation Bodies: Waterways Ireland and An Foras Teanga, which comprises two agencies - Foras na Gaeilge and the Ulster-Scots Agency/Tha Boord o Ulstér-Scotch.

My Department is committed to supporting North/South co-operation, particularly in the context of the Good Friday Agreement and the St. Andrews Agreement. I, along with the Minister of State at my Department, Mr. Dinny McGinley, T.D., participate regularly in meetings of the NSMC, in both the Waterways and Language sectoral formats. There were six such meetings in 2012 – three in each sectoral format. Topics addressed at those meetings included the management and development of the waterways network; the development of education packs for schools in relation to waterways; the negative effects of invasive species on the waterways; the publication of a major new English/Irish dictionary; projects to build links between communities in Ireland and Scotland; the development of the Hairtlan project, which aims to preserve, protect and present Ulster-Scots heritage; and governance and financial management arrangements.

The most recent formal engagement was at the NSMC meeting in Language sectoral format on 6 March last in Armagh. As is customary, the Council issued a Joint Communiqué following this meeting, which is available on . I am advised that the next NSMC meeting in sectoral format for both Waterways Ireland and An Foras Teanga is planned for June 2013.

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