Taoiseach to meet British Prime Minister Gordon Brown

The Taoiseach will meet the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown next weekend (February 10th).

It will be the third bilateral meeting between the two men since the Prime Minister took office, following their recent meetings in Belfast and Brussels.

The main item on the agenda is expected to be the recent progress in Northern Ireland, with a focus on how the two Governments can continue to support the Northern Ireland parties in the year ahead. Two key issues will be the devolution of policing and justice powers to the democratic institutions in Northern Ireland and helping the development of the Northern economy.

The Taoiseach and Prime Minister are also expected to attend a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster.

The meeting with the Prime Minister comes in the middle of a busy period of activity for the Taoiseach in North/South and British-Irish relations, following his historic visit to visit the First Minister, Ian Paisley, in his Ballymena constituency last Friday

Next week will see a Plenary Meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council in Dundalk (on Thursday, February 7th).

The Taoiseach will host the First and deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland, Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness, and Ministers from both sides of the border at the meeting. Among the issues likely to be discussed are the development of the tourism on the island and improving cross-border road and rail links.

The following week, the Taoiseach will host a meeting of the British-Irish Council, which will be attended by leaders from London, Belfast, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. The meeting will be held in the historic location of the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham. The occasion will also 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.

Monday 4th February 2008