Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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45. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has had any recent discussion with the Northern Ireland Secretary of State and with members of the Northern Ireland Executive in relation to the proposed Bill of rights; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8804/14]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I am in ongoing regular contact with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and met with her most recently on 6 February , and with the political parties in Northern Ireland on issues related to full implementation of the Agreement, including a Bill of Rights, and will remain so.

I have made clear in statements in the Dáil and elsewhere and in my contacts with the Secretary of State and others that I believe that many of the contentious issues around culture and identity have rights at their core and progress on a Bill of Rights could provide a framework for the resolution of such issues.