Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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121. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on the Intergovernmental Conference held in July 2018; the issues that were discussed; and if there has been a follow-up since same. [37316/18]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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A meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, BIIGC, took place in London on 25 July. I and the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Charles Flanagan, represented the Government. The UK Government was represented by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, David Lidington MP, and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley MP.

The Conference was established under Strand Three of the Good Friday Agreement, bringing together both Governments to promote bilateral co-operation on matters of mutual interest within their competence. As detailed in the joint communiqué, we discussed legacy issues, security cooperation, East-West matters, political stability, and future meetings of the BIIGC.

At the meeting, we reviewed the ongoing progress towards implementation of the Stormont House Agreement legacy framework and the legislative measures that are being brought forward in Ireland to implement and support this. I also raised other legacy issues.

Both Governments recalled the commitments made in the 2015 Fresh Start Agreement to ending paramilitarism and looked forward to the first report of the Independent Reporting Commission.

On east-west relations, the conference committed to maintain the high levels of bilateral cooperation across a range of important policy areas and looked at where cooperation could be strengthened following the UK’s exit from the EU. Officials have been tasked with taking forward this area of work with a view to drafting proposals for future east-west co-operation.

Both Governments reiterated our strong support for the Good Friday Agreement and reaffirmed our shared commitment to the political institutions it established. We reaffirmed our joint commitment to securing the effective operation of power-sharing, devolved government in Northern Ireland, the resumption of the North/South Ministerial Council and the participation of Northern Ireland in the British Irish Council at the earliest opportunity.

It was agreed at the conference that both Governments would meet again in the autumn. Officials from across government, in coordination with my officials in the Irish Secretariat in Belfast, continue to follow up on the outcomes of the Conference.