Irish & British Parliamentarians to assess political developments in light of Brexit

The implications of Brexit will be among the key issues for debate by Irish and British parliamentarians when they meet in Dublin on Monday and Tuesday next week for the 52nd plenary meeting of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA). 

 

Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas will attend, along with representatives from the UK Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the High Court of Tynwald (Isle of Man) and the States of Guernsey and Jersey.

 

Joe McHugh, TD, Minister of State for the Diaspora and Overseas Development Aid at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, will open the meeting with an update on current developments in British / Irish relations.

 

Patrick O’Donovan, TD, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport will address the Assembly on the subject of tourism and interconnectivity between the two islands.

 

The Assembly will also receive an update on recent legislation progressed by the former Minister for Health and pre-legislative scrutiny by the previous Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health.

 

Irish Co-Chair Kathleen Funchion TD says: “I look forward to welcoming members of BIPA to Dublin, with members attending from the Westminster Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh and Northern Assemblies, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. The Brexit vote has the potential to fundamentally change relationships on our islands. The Irish Members of BIPA welcome the opportunity to come together with our colleagues from across these islands to discuss a range of pivotal issues. Obviously, the referendum result will be discussed at the Plenary, particularly as we all seek to support the continuation of the close and mutually beneficial ties that exist between all our nations.”

“The dual themes of this Plenary are ‘International tourism opportunities for Ireland and the UK’ and ‘Commemoration and Reconciliation’. Over the course of the session we will continue our work building good relations among the nations and peoples of these islands.”

 

Vice-Chair Andrew Rosindell MP says: “This session of the British-Irish Parliamentary session comes at a crucial time in the relationship between our two nations. As Britain negotiates its exit from the European Union, we must ensure that we maintain excellent relations with our closest neighbour. I am looking forward to meeting with my counterparts in the Oireachtas, and in the UK’s devolved institutions, and discussing some of the issues that will need to be settled in the coming months.”

 

/ENDS

Notes to eds: 

The 52nd Plenary of the British Irish Assembly will take place at the Grand Hotel, Malahide, in Dublin on Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th July 2016.

Follow the BIPA twitter channel for updates: @BritishIrishPA

About the Assembly

The Assembly's mission is to promote co-operation between political representatives in Britain and Ireland for the benefit of the people they represent. BIPA’s membership includes representatives from the UK Parliament, the Houses of the Oireachtas, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly, the High Court of Tynwald (Isle of Man) and the States of Guernsey and Jersey. 

 

Media enquiries and accreditation requests to:

Dublin: Nuala Walsh (+353) 86 410 0898
/ nuala.walsh@oireachtas.ie

London: George Perry: + 0044 783 417 2099 perryg@parliament.uk

Programme of events

 

British Irish Parliamentary Assembly

52nd plenary session

Grand Hotel, Malahide, Dublin

4 – 5 July 2016

MONDAY, 4TH JULY 2016

9.15 am Meeting in public session in Grand Hotel Malahide

1.         Chair of the assembly

2.         Adoption of proposed programme of business and brief introductory comments by Co-Chairs 

9.30 am

3.      ‘Current developments in British/Irish relations’

Mr. Joe McHugh, T.D., Minister of State for the Diaspora and Overseas Development Aid at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, will address the Assembly.

10.15 am

4.      Motion/debate: the assembly will consider the impact on British/Irish relations 

         of the result of the UK referendum on EU membership.

11.00 am

5.      ‘Role of women in World War 1 and in the 1916 rising/war of independence.’ Joint address by Dr Fionnuala Walsh, National Library of Ireland (World War 1) and Ms. Sinéad McCoole, Author and Historian, (1916 Rising/War of Independence).

12 noon

6.      ‘British-Irish friendship today based on almost a century of Irish independence and the peace settlement in Northern Ireland.’ 

Dr. Martin Mansergh, Historian, former Government TD and Senator, will address the Assembly. 

2.45 p.m. 

 7.    Tourism and interconnectivity opportunities between the two islands

Mr. Patrick O’Donovan, TD, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, will address the Assembly.

3.30 p.m.

 8.     Panel discussion on shared international tourism opportunities 

Mr. John McGrane, Director General, British/Irish Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Niall Gibbons, CEO, Tourism Ireland.

Mr. Shaun Quinn, CEO, Failte Ireland.

Mr. John McGrillen, CEO, Tourism Northern Ireland.

 

The session will conclude not later than 5.00 pm

TUESDAY, 5TH JULY, 2016

Meeting in public session in Grand Hotel Malahide

9.30am

1. Continuation of motion/debate: the assembly will consider the impact on British/Irish relations of the result of the UK referendum on EU membership.

10.30am

2. Report from Committee B

Committee B:  Visa Systems (Andrew Rosindell MP, Chairman)

10.45am

3. Progress updates from committee chairmen (A, B, C, D) & government responses to previous committee reports

 

4. Annual report 2015

11.30 am

5.    Significant legislative developments with societal impact: recent legislation progressed by the former Minister for Health and pre legislative scrutiny undertaken by the former Joint Committee on Health

Senator James Reilly, former Minister for Health and Senator Jerry Buttimer, former Chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health, will jointly address the Assembly. 

 

12.15 pm

6.       Adjournment

The Steering Committee - That the Assembly do now adjourn.

 

The session will conclude not later than 12.15 pm