Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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191. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his discussions with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland; if the issue of the North's budget and welfare system was discussed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15282/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I have had regular and ongoing contact with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers MP. In recent months the primary focus of our discussions has been on the effective and expeditious implementation of the Stormont House Agreement. However, we have also discussed a range of other areas of mutual interest including specific legacy cases. In terms of our discussions on the Stormont House Agreement, both Governments remain committed to playing their parts in ensuring the full implementation of the Stormont House Agreement. In that context, the Secretary of State and I have discussed the need to ensure that recent developments in regard to the Welfare Bill in Northern Ireland do not have a corrosive impact on the wider implementation of the Agreement. In accordance with the review and monitoring provisions of the Stormont House Agreement, quarterly review meetings are held involving the Northern Ireland Executive party leaders and the British and Irish Governments. I attended the second such meeting in Belfast on 27 March. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland also attended. The meeting reviewed progress made to date on the detailed implementation timeline for the Stormont House Agreement, which was agreed by the NI Executive party leaders and the two Governments at our first review meeting on 30 January.

The Irish Government was not a party to the negotiations late last year in Stormont Castle or Stormont House which dealt specifically with budgets and financial issues. Recent and ongoing discussions on these matters take place primarily between the NI Executive Party Leaders themselves. For that reason, I have called on the Northern Ireland parties, and in particular Sinn Féin and the DUP, to work together to find a solution to the current difficulties on welfare. I know that work is ongoing by Northern Ireland’s political leaders to resolve the welfare issue, and I understand that some progress has been made.