Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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553. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will detail the efforts he and his Department are making to restore power sharing in Northern Ireland. [12640/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The full and effective operation of all of the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement, including the power-sharing institutions provided for under Strand One, is a priority for this Government. The people of Northern Ireland are entitled to a functioning Assembly and Executive, in full fulfilment of the mandate they gave in the May 2022 elections. The absence of a functioning Executive also has knock-on affects on the operation of the Strand Two institutions of the Agreement, in particular the North South Ministerial Council, whose work should continue as soon as possible.

While the Assembly parties will naturally require some time to study the Windsor Framework, this should not not be an obstacle to the full functioning of the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement across all three Strands.

I remain in regular contact with political representatives in Northern Ireland to encourage the return to a functioning Assembly and Executive, and also with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris-Heaton Harris to discuss how best to achieve this shared goal.