Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 February 2026
140. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if the Government is making the case for the North/South Ministerial Council to meet more regularly; and if the areas of co-operation dealt with in this forum be expanded. [5972/26]
View answer141. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the work that is being done to increase the number of the all-Ireland implementation bodies to cover more co-operation between North and South [5971/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 140 and 141 together.
The North South Ministerial Council meets in a number of different formats - plenary, institutional and sectoral - and since the restoration of the Good Friday institutions in 2024, there has been a full and busy schedule of meetings. Since then, a total of forty (40) NSMC meetings have taken place across the three formats, namely four (4) plenary meetings, two (2) institutional meetings, and thirty-four (34) sectoral meetings (thirteen (13) in 2024; fifteen (15) in 2025 and six (6) so far in 2026).
At these NSMC meetings, a wide and evolving range of topics are discussed, within the framework of the agreed areas of cooperation.
At the last plenary meeting of the NSMC for example, in October 2025, Ministers had a first opportunity for a collective cross-government, cross-border discussion on Emergency Planning and Preparedness. They also discussed topics from previous plenaries that remain pertinent, including considering how agreed collaborative approaches can contribute to the promotion of economic growth on the island, and tackling gender-based violence. Addressing climate change and loss of biodiversity has also been identified as a cross cutting theme, with all work sectors of the Council asked to look at this issue at the plenary meeting in April 2024.
The sectoral meetings give ministers from both jurisdictions the opportunity to meet with their counterparts across the twelve work sectors, namely Agriculture, Education, Environment, Health, Tourism, Transport, Trade and Business, Special EU Programmes, Inland Waterways, Language, Aquaculture and Marine, and Food Safety. The work programmes in those different Areas of Co-Operation have recently been updated with the agreement of both Administrations.
In the education sector, for example, ministers agreed to extend the work programme to include areas such as digital and artificial intelligence, while in the environment sector, air quality and climate action, biodiversity, and sustainable development have been included. Updated work programmes are available to view on the NSMC website: www.northsouthministerialcouncil.org/
I would also like to acknowledge the wide-ranging work that is being done by the six North South Implementation Bodies, operating under the overall policy direction of the NSMC.
The Government will continue to work to maximize the scope and scale of the work that is being undertaken within the framework of the North South Ministerial Council. It is also possible to explore the expansion of areas of cooperation and the work of the North South Implementation Bodies, in line with the Good Friday Agreement. It should be borne in mind, however, that any such expansion would require the agreement of the NSMC, as well as endorsement by the Oireachtas and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
