Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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200. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the discussions that took place at his recent meeting with the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland; his views on measures which were agreed at the meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8448/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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On 11 February, I met the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Theresa Villiers during her visit to Dublin, as part of our regular consultations. We discussed a broad range of issues including ongoing work on the implementation of the Stormont House Agreement, the justice and security situation in Northern Ireland, and a number of specific legacy cases.

In relation to the Stormont House Agreement, we reviewed the good progress made at the first implementation and review meeting held in Belfast on 30 January last at which a detailed implementation timeline was agreed. We looked forward to continuing to work together with the Northern Ireland Executive parties to ensure the effective and expeditious implementation of the Agreement. A second review meeting will take place in March, again involving both Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive. I re-iterated the Government’s commitment to fully playing our part in this vital implementation phase.

The Secretary of State updated me on her thinking in regard to how the impasse on the parades issue in North Belfast might be addressed. In discussing this issue, I continued to emphasise the importance of any initiative in this area enjoying the necessary cross-community support. We also discussed the recent disturbances at Maghaberry Prison, the need for the ending of all threats against prison officers and for the implementation of the constructive recommendations of the recent stocktake report.

In relation to legacy issues, I again raised the issue of access by an independent international judicial figure to original documents in the possession of the British Government relating to the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. The Secretary of State assured me that she continued to reflect on how the British Government could respond to this request.

Regarding the case of the late Pat Finucane, I underlined the Government’s continued support for the Finucane family’s call on the British Government to establish an independent public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane, in line with the commitments made by both Governments at Weston Park in 2001. The Secretary of State responded that the de Silva Report and Prime Minister Cameron’s apology to the family constituted her Government’s response to the case.