Transcript North/South Ministerial Council

Address to Reconstruction and
Resettlement Council, Cyprus
Presented by:
Niall Holohan
30 November 2007
Belfast/Good Friday Agreement
Overview
• Strand One - Institutions in Northern Ireland
• Strand Two - North/South
• Strand Three - East/West, British/Irish Council
Belfast/Good Friday Agreement
Main North/South Provisions
• North/South Ministerial Council
• 12 areas identified for North/South cooperation
– 6 Implementation Bodies
– 6 Areas of Co-operation
North/South Ministerial Council
• Brings together those with Executive
responsibilities in Northern Ireland and the
Irish Government
• To develop consultation, co-operation and
action within the island, on matters of
mutual interest within the competence of
both Administrations
• All decisions by agreement between North
and South
NSMC Formats
Plenary
• Twice per year
• Takes overview
Sectoral
• 12 Sectors;
• About 3 times per year per Sector
Institutional
• Institutional & Cross Sectoral
Issues;
• Resolving disputes
• Meets as necessary
North/South Ministerial Council
Joint Secretariat
• Established in Armagh 2 December
1999
• Joint Secretaries North and South
• Staff of 28 drawn from both Civil
Services
• We facilitate and support work of
Ministers and process by which
decisions are made and implemented
6 IMPLEMENTATION BODIES
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Special EU Programmes Body
Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights
Waterways Ireland
Food Safety Promotion Board
InterTradeIreland
Language Body
Foras Na Gaeilge
Tha Boord Ó Ulster Scotch
Special EU Programmes Body
•
Managing Authority for PEACE II and Ireland/NI INTERREG IIIA Programmes;
•
Proposed Managing and Paying Authority for PEACE III and INTERREG IV
Programmes
•
Paying authority for INTERREG IIIA Programme
•
Programmes representing EU and national funds in NI and the Border Region in
2000-2006 totalled €1,176m;
•
Managerial and oversight functions in relation to the new round of Community
Initiative Programmes (LEADER+, EQUAL and URBAN II) finance by ESF;
•
Monitors and promotes North/South co-operative actions through the Common
Chapter in the National Development Plan in the South and the NI Structural
Funds Plan.
•
Budget for 2007 £2.3m / €3.33m
InterTradeIreland
• Facilitates development of culture where island
economy can develop;
• Works in close collaboration with the existing
development agencies, North and South;
• Encourages information share, joint marketing
initiatives, joint research development, and
maximising the potential of e-business across
the island (Fusion Programme);
• Budget for 2007 £9.7m / €14.0m
InterTradeIreland
• Sector specific networks;
- Biotechnology and life sciences
- All-island software network
- Crafts
• Areas of Excellence networks
- Equity finance
- Supply chain solutions
• Other projects inc FUSION, INNOVA,
ACUMEM
Language Body
• Single Body comprising two separate and largely
autonomous agencies:
• Foras na Gaeilge (Irish Language Agency) with
responsibility for promoting the Irish language on an
all-island basis, including education, dictionaries and
terminology;
• Tha Boord o Ulster Scotch (Ulster Scots Agency),
with responsibility for promotion of greater
awareness and use of Ullans and of Ulster Scots
cultural issues throughout the island.
• Budget for 2007 Foras £14.0m / €20.3m
Boord £2.17m / €3.15
6 AREAS OF CO-OPERATION
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Health
Education
Agriculture
Environment
Transport
Tourism
(Tourism Ireland Limited)
Agriculture
Co-operation on:
• Common Agriculture Policy;
• Animal and Plant Health (close North/South
co-operation to develop island wide policy for
animal health; Foot and Mouth Disease
outbreak underlines the necessity);
• North/South Working Group on Bovine
TB/Brucellosis;
• Rural Development (EU-funded Rural
Initiative Measure to support cross-border
cooperation).
Environment
Co-operation on:
• Water Quality Management (co-operation on
implementation of EU Water Framework
Directive);
• Waste Management (strategic all-island
approaches to disposal of hazardous
materials and development of waste
recycling);
• Environmental research and establishment of
all-island Environmental Database;
• Environmental impacts of agriculture;
• Information exchange and awareness raising.
Transport
Co-operation on:
• Strategic planning and development;
• Road safety;
• Roads infrastructure;
• Belfast-Dublin rail link.
Tourism Ireland
• Publicly owned limited company responsible
for overseas marketing of the island of
Ireland as a tourist destination;
• Key goals are to increase tourism to the
island of Ireland and to support NI to realise
its tourism potential;
• Budget for 2007 £45.9m / €66.5m
Tourism Ireland
• Overseas visitor performance 2006 was 8.5m
visitors – growth of 8.5% over 2005
• Priorities for 2007
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Helping NI tourism reach its potential
Better spread of benefits to regions
Access development
E-marketing
DEVOLUTION RESTORED TO
NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY
TUESDAY- 8 MAY 2007
NSMC FULLY OPERATIONAL
• 5th NSMC Plenary Meeting held on Tuesday
17 July 2007 in Armagh
• Schedule of NSMC Meetings agreed
Key Issues
• North/South Bodies unique
• Transnational
• Cross Border Issues
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Labour Market mobility
Trade and Business Development
Public Services in Border Area
Spatial Planning
Some Lessons?
• North/South one of the quiet success stories
of the Good Friday Agreement
• Political context essential
• Principle of No Surprises
• Focus on delivery and accountability
Contacts
www.northsouthministerialcouncil.org