About the Assembly

Our mission

The Assembly's mission is to promote co-operation between political representatives in Britain and Ireland for the benefit of the people we represent. We want to build on the close relationships established in recent years between politicians throughout Britain and Ireland.

Our History

Our history is significant. We were established as the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body 1990 as a link between the Houses of Parliament and the Houses of the Oireachtas. The first plenary session took-place in London under the inaugural Co-Chairs, Peter Temple-Morris MP and James Tunney TD.

In 2001 membership was enlarged to include the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the High Court of Tynwald and the States of Guernsey and Jersey. In 2008, the name British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly was adopted to reflect a new era of relations between Britain and Ireland.

Our Work

Our members engage in a wide range of non-legislative parliamentary activities, through bi-annual plenary meetings and ongoing Committee work.

Plenaries alternate between our two countries and debate topical issues, Committee reports, and include a question period with a senior Minister from the host country. Our four Committees meet regularly and take oral and written evidence on specific issues. Committees also interact with the European Parliament and the wider international community.