 | |
| Formation | July 2012; 13 years ago (2012-07) |
|---|---|
| Legal status | Joint committee |
| Purpose | Interparliamentary relations |
Region served | Island of Ireland |
Official language | English,Irish |
| Strand 1 |
|---|
| Strand 2 |
| Strand 3 |
| Additional bodies |
TheNorth/South Inter-Parliamentary Association is an inter-parliamentaryforum created between the national parliament of theRepublic of Ireland (theOireachtas) and the devolvedNorthern Ireland Assembly.
The forum is co-chaired by theCeann Comhairle (speaker) ofDáil Éireann (lower house) in the Republic of Ireland and theSpeaker 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] Anexecutive 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 1998Good Friday Agreement, which dealt with the relationship betweenNorthern Ireland, which is part of theUnited Kingdom, and theRepublic of Ireland, which is an independent state. The two parts ofIreland werepartitioned in 1920. Under the 1998 Agreement, the two jurisdictions agreed to "consider" an inter-parliamentary forum (and an independent civic forum) alongside theNorth/South Ministerial Council that was established under the agreement.[4] In 2006, as part of theSt Andrews Agreement, theNorthern 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 ofparliamentarians atParliament Buildings,Belfast, Northern Ireland in July 2012.[1] The first plenary meeting of the association took place on 12 October 2012 in theSeanad chambers ofLeinster House,Dublin, Republic of Ireland.[6] The inaugural meeting dealt with the topics ofchild protection and theUlster Canal. The secondplenary session took place on 26 April 2013 in Belfast.[2][7]
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.