 | |
| Formation | July 2012 |
|---|---|
| Legal status | Joint committee |
| Purpose | Interparliamentary relations |
Region served | Island of Ireland |
Official language | English, Irish |
| Strand 1 |
|---|
| Strand 2 |
| Strand 3 |
| Additional bodies |
The North/South Inter-Parliamentary Association is an inter-parliamentary forum created between the national parliament of the Republic of Ireland (the Oireachtas) and the devolved Northern Ireland Assembly.
The forum is co-chaired by the Ceann Comhairle (speaker) of Dáil Éireann (lower house) in the Republic of Ireland and the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly. [1] [2]
The association has 48 members, drawn equally from members of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Oireachtas and meets twice annually on a rotational basis. [1] An executive committee of 12 members, six each from the Oireacthas and the Northern Ireland Assembly, sets the agenda for each meeting. [3]
The association was envisioned as part of Strand 2 of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which dealt with the relationship between Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, which is an independent state. The two parts of Ireland were partitioned in 1920. Under the 1998 Agreement, the two jurisdictions agreed to "consider" an inter-parliamentary forum (and an independent civic forum) alongside the North/South Ministerial Council that was established under the agreement. [4] In 2006, as part of the St Andrews Agreement, the Northern Ireland Executive agreed "[it] would encourage the parties in the [Northern Ireland] Assembly to establish" the forum. [5]
The formation of the association was marked by a gathering of parliamentarians at Parliament Buildings, Belfast, Northern Ireland in July 2012. [1] The first plenary meeting of the association took place on 12 October 2012 in the Seanad (senate) chambers of Leinster House, Dublin, Republic of Ireland. [6] The inaugural meeting dealt with the topics of child protection and the Ulster Canal. The second plenary session took place on 26 April 2013 in Belfast. [2] [7]
Seamus Frederick Mallon was an Irish politician who served as deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2001 and Deputy Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) from 1979 to 2001. He also sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1986 to 2005.
Joseph Austin Currie was an Irish politician who served as a Minister of State with responsibility for Children's Rights from 1994 to 1997. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin West constituency from 1989 to 2002, representing Fine Gael, and as a Member of the Parliament of Northern Ireland (MP) for East Tyrone from 1964 to 1972, representing the Nationalist Party and later the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).
The Northern Ireland Assembly, often referred to by the metonym Stormont, is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive. It sits at Parliament Buildings at Stormont in Belfast.
The British–Irish Council is an intergovernmental organisation that aims to improve collaboration between its members in a number of areas including transport, the environment and energy. Its membership comprises Ireland, the United Kingdom, the devolved governments of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, in addition to the governments of the British Crown Dependencies: Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man. As England does not have a devolved administration, it is not individually represented on the council but only as a member of the United Kingdom.
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The North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) is a body established under the Good Friday Agreement to co-ordinate activity and exercise certain governmental powers across the whole island of Ireland.
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Since at least 1542, England and later Great Britain and Ireland have been connected politically, reaching a height in 1801 with the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. About five-sixths of the island of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom in 1922 as the Irish Free State. Historically, relations between the two states have been influenced heavily by issues arising from their shared history, the independence of the Irish Free State and the governance of Northern Ireland. These include the partition of Ireland and the terms of Ireland's secession, its constitutional relationship with and obligations to the UK after independence, and the outbreak of political violence in Northern Ireland. Additionally, the high level of trade between the two states, their proximate geographic location, their common status as islands in the European Union until Britain's departure, common language and close cultural and personal links mean political developments in both states often closely follow each other.
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The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April, Good Friday, 1998, that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the late 1960s. It was a major development in the Northern Ireland peace process of the 1990s. It is made up of the Multi-Party Agreement between most of Northern Ireland's political parties, and the British–Irish Agreement between the British and Irish governments. Northern Ireland's present devolved system of government is based on the agreement.
The North/South Consultative Forum is a planned civic forum on the island of Ireland envisioned as part of the Good Friday Agreement. The Forum is envisioned as an independent consultative forum appointed by the Government of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Executive "comprising the social partners and other members with expertise in social, cultural, economic and other issues" and being representative of civil society.
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The Northern Ireland Assembly and the Oireachtas to consider developing a joint parliamentary forum, bringing together equal numbers from both institutions for discussion of matters of mutual interest and concern.
The Northern Ireland Executive would encourage the parties in the Assembly to establish a North-South parliamentary forum bringing together equal numbers from the Oireachtas and the Assembly, and operating on an inclusive basis.