Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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323. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline the areas within the Belfast Agreement and subsequent agreements raised by him in discussions with the British Prime Minister or the First Minister and Deputy First Minister on the basis of a concern that implementation is incomplete; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17907/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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A number of elements of the Good Friday Agreement and St Andrews Agreement have not yet been fully implemented including an Irish Language Act, a North South Consultative Forum and, a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.

The Government’s firm position is that these Agreements must be implemented in full, and this is reflected in the Programme for Government. These 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 had the opportunity to draw attention to these outstanding commitments last week at the Review Meeting of the Stormont House and Fresh Start Agreements.

The matter of an Irish Language Act for Northern Ireland is a devolved one and is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive and, in particular, of the recently appointed Minister for Communities Paul Givan MLA. A public consultation process on an Irish Language Bill was held in 2015 following on from the launch of a 20 year Strategy for both Irish and Ulster Scots in January that year. The Government is closely following progress on this and continues to advocate for an Irish Language Act and to encourage those who currently support an Act to continue to build the necessary enabling consensus among their Executive colleagues.

In the 2014 Stormont House Agreement, the Government and the British Government, recalling the commitments from previous Agreements, endorsed the need for respect for and recognition of the Irish language in Northern Ireland, consistent with the Council of Europe Charter on Regional or Minority Languages.

Of course the Irish Government continues to support the work of Foras na Gaeilge whose objective is the promotion of the Irish language on an all-island basis and my own Department has also provided support, through its Reconciliation Fund, to number of projects promoting the use of the Irish language on a cross community basis within Northern Ireland.

With the establishment in 2012 of the North/South Inter-Parliamentary Association, which is in effect the North/South Parliamentary Forum envisaged in the Good Friday Agreement, the only Strand Two institution that remains outstanding is the North/South Consultative Forum. The Government continues to support the establishment of the Consultative Forum and the Taoiseach has raised the Forum at successive Plenary meetings of the North South Ministerial Council.

On a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, the Government advanced the view during the 2014 Stormont House talks, that a Bill of Rights could set out precisely and formally the rights upon which a shared society for Northern Ireland could be based. While there was not sufficient consensus to take this forward, the final Agreement did provide that the parties commit to:

“serving the people of Northern Ireland equally, and to act in accordance with the obligations on government to promote equality and respect and to prevent discrimination; to promote a culture of tolerance, mutual respect and mutual understanding at every level of society, including initiatives to facilitate and encourage shared and integrated education and housing, social inclusion, and in particular community development and the advancement of women in public life; and to promote the interests of the whole community towards the goals of reconciliation and economic renewal”.

The implementation provisions of the Stormont House Agreement provide for regular review meetings with the participation of the Government, the British Government and the Executive party leaders. Through these review meetings, I have and will continue to seek the implementation of all aspects of the Stormont House and Fresh Start Agreements, including those outstanding commitments from the Good Friday and St Andrews’ agreements.

As the Programme for a Partnership Government makes clear, we are also determined to pursue the outstanding commitment for a full public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane as agreed by the British and Irish Governments in the Weston Park Agreement of 2001. This is something which the Government has continued to pursue through the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

The Government will continue to engage with the British Government and the Executive, to ensure that the full potential of the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent Agreements is realised towards achieving effective partnership government, genuine reconciliation and economic prosperity for all in Northern Ireland.