Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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392. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the position regarding the North South Ministerial Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43796/14]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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396. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the North South Ministerial Council held on 3 October 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39832/14]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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397. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the discussion at the North South Ministerial Council on Foras na Gaeilge funding arrangements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39831/14]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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398. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the discussion at the North South Ministerial Council on the Ulster-Scots Agency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39830/14]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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399. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the discussions on Childlink and the North South Child Protection Hub at the North South Ministerial Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39829/14]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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400. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the discussions on INTERREG and PEACE IV programmes 2014-2020 at the North South Ministerial Council meeting on 3 October 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39828/14]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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401. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the discussion on sectoral priorities at the North South Ministerial Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39827/14]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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402. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the discussions on the North West Gateway Initiative at the North South Ministerial Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39826/14]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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403. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the discussions on re-balancing the Northern Ireland economy at the North South Ministerial Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39825/14]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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404. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the discussions on job creation in Northern Ireland at the 3 October 2014 North South Ministerial Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39824/14]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 392 and 396 to 404, inclusive, together.

The North South Ministerial Council, NSMC, was established as part of the Good Friday Agreement to foster mutually beneficial co-operation in agreed areas on an all-island basis. My colleagues in Government and I meet regularly with our counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive in the various NSMC formats to review progress in all areas of North South co-operation.

In addition to the North South Ministerial Council being a vehicle for reconciliation and better understanding on the island, it is also a mechanism for ensuring a more efficient delivery of services and a more coordinated approach to job creation and recovery, North and South. While there has been valuable progress in cooperation through the NSMC, the Government is also firmly committed to developing cross border cooperation across a broad range of areas including those which are not part of the currently mandated NSMC work programme.

To date in 2014, there have been nineteen NSMC Ministerial meetings. It is expected that further meetings will take place in the coming weeks. Indeed, I am looking forward to meeting with our Northern Ireland Executive colleagues at the upcoming Plenary meeting in December.

The 18th Plenary meeting of the NSMC took place in Dublin Castle on 3 October 2014. At this meeting, discussions covered a wide range of financial, economic and EU matters including the employment situation in both jurisdictions and measures to encourage job creation. Ministers referenced the positive job announcements which had been made recently both North and South. Progress on the disposal of NAMA’s Northern Ireland portfolio was welcomed by the Council. Also discussed were actions to build trade links with developing markets, attraction of foreign direct investment and issues relating to banking, in particular lending to SMEs, economic and budgetary challenges facing both administrations and measures aimed at rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy. As regards the latter, the Government is involved in supporting the UK’s investment package for Northern Ireland, which is aimed at rebalancing the economy and tackling division.

We also noted the opportunities for tourism and trade through the hosting of all-island events and agreed to continue to cooperate on a possible joint bid for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. A particular measure of note is the introduction of the joint British-Irish Visa Scheme which has come into operation in China and is due to be rolled out to cover India in the coming months. This will have very significant positive benefits to the tourism sector on the island.

We noted that the draft Programmes for the new INTERREG V and PEACE IV Programmes for the period 2014 – 2020 have been submitted to the EU Commission. It is expected that the PEACE programme will amount to some €269 million while the INTERREG programme is expected to total c. €282 million. The new PEACE programme will focus on Social Inclusion and Combatting Poverty while the new INTERREG program’s focus will be spread across four themes: Research and Innovation; Environment; Sustainable Transport; and Health.

It was agreed that several other European funding programmes may present opportunities for cross-border cooperation to maximise the drawdown of EU funding to the island and that we should examine this issue further at the December Plenary.

With regard to the St. Andrews Agreement Review, the Council noted that discussions on Sectoral Priorities have now taken place, following the decisions taken at the last NSMC Plenary in November 2013 and the NSMC Institutional meeting in January 2014. These discussions focused on efforts to support economic recovery, job creation, ensuring the best use of public funds and the most effective delivery of services for citizens. Ministers agreed that it had been useful to review progress and identify opportunities within the existing agreed work programmes and noted that a report on other priorities identified during the Ministerial discussions will be brought to the next NSMC Institutional Meeting.

We also discussed the North West Gateway Initiative noting the conclusion of the consultation process that had been carried out with regional stakeholders and agreed that further consultation with relevant Government Departments should be undertaken. The Council also reconfirmed its commitment to a future meeting of Ministers and officials in the North West to consider future strategic approaches to the development of the region.

At the Plenary Ministers noted that the child protection work programme, agreed in the NSMC Health sector, continues to be progressed. An ‘app’ to allow access to the North South Child Protection Hub was launched by Childlink in February 2014. There was a discussion on child protection and e-Safety issues and the Council agreed to discuss this item further at the NSMC Plenary in December.

The Plenary meeting also noted developments relating to the operation of the North South Implementation Bodies. As regards the Language Body, comprising an Foras na Gaeilge and Ulster Scots Agency, the relevant Ministers are scheduled to meet soon. It is expected that amongst other agenda items for discussion, funding arrangements for Foras na Gaeilge will also be discussed at the meeting.

The Council also noted the current position on the North South Consultative Forum.