Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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141. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the position regarding a bill of rights for Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37349/14]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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142. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the progress being made in relation to the proposed Irish Language Act; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37350/14]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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143. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the position regarding the establishment of the North-South consultative forum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37351/14]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 141, 142 and 143 together.

A number of elements of the Good Friday Agreement and St Andrews Agreement have not yet been fully implemented. Among these are the establishment of a North South Consultative Forum, a Bill of Rights and an Irish Language Act. The Government’s firm position is that these Agreements must be implemented in full. The Agreements, as well as the principles and values underpinning them, are at the core of the Government’s approach to peace, reconciliation and prosperity on this island.

I welcome the report agreed at the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly plenary in Dublin on 31 March 2014on the implementation of the Good Friday and St Andrew’s Agreements and which calls on all parties to the Agreements ‘to maintain momentum to ensure that all outstanding provisions are implemented in their totality’.

I continue to urge all the parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly to engage in constructive discussion with a view to reaching agreement on the substance of a Bill of Rights. A Bill of Rights drawn up by agreement between the main parties of the Assembly could set out precisely and formally the rights underpinning a reconciled society in Northern Ireland. Officials of my Department keep in ongoing contact with representatives of civil society on the issue of a Bill of Rights.

In the St Andrews Agreement, the British government committed to introducing an Irish Language Act and to working with the Executive to enhance and protect the development of the Irish Language. Since the restoration of the devolved Institutions on 8 May 2007, the question of an Irish Language Act for Northern Ireland is a devolved matter and is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive and in particular of the Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure, Ms. Carál Ní Chuilín MLA. The Government continues to follow developments closely in relation to the proposed Act, as well as the overall enhancement and protection of the Irish Language in Northern Ireland.

The Good Friday Agreement also provided for the establishment of an independent Consultative Forum representative of civil society. The St Andrews Agreement provided further that the Northern Ireland Executive would support the establishment of an independent North/South Consultative Forum. In September 2008, the Irish Government submitted proposals for the role, format, membership and operation of a North South Consultative Forum to the Executive for its consideration, and facilitated three consultative conferences, the most recent of which was in January 2011. The Government awaits a response from the Executive. The Taoiseach has raised the Forum at each Plenary meeting of the North South Ministerial Council he has attended and it is on the agenda for the forthcoming meeting on 3 October 2014.

I will continue to press the importance of implementing outstanding elements of the Agreements in my discussions with the British Government and Northern Ireland Executive. Officials in my Department will continue to monitor these matters in their ongoing contacts with the Northern Ireland Office and officials of the Northern Ireland Executive.