Sixth Plenary Meeting of the North South Ministerial Council, Thursday, 7 February, 2008

Sixth Plenary Meeting of the North South Ministerial Council, Thursday, 7 February, 2008 

The Taoiseach will today chair the Sixth Plenary meeting of the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) in Dundalk which will be attended by the First and deputy  First Ministers of Northern Ireland, Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness, as well as Ministers from both sides of the border.

It is the second Plenary to take place since the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive last May and follows on from the fifth Plenary meeting that took place in Armagh last July. 

The meeting is likely to mark overall progress on North/South co-operation and to discuss tourism on the island and improving cross-border road and rail links. 

This meeting will be followed next week (14 February) by a Summit of the British Irish Council which will also be hosted by the Taoiseach.  This meeting, which will be attended by leaders from London, Belfast, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of  Man, will see the first visit to  Dublin by the new Scottish First Minister, Alex Salmond. 

The British-Irish Council will discuss closer co-operation on a range of issues, including the fight against drugs.  The Council is also expected to have a  discussion on improving its future effectiveness, now that the  devolved institutions in Northern Ireland are fully participating and it  can operate as was intended in the Good Friday Agreement.

7th February 2008