Murphy heralds success of British-Irish Council

Secretary of State, Paul Murphy has highlighted the many new and productive relationships that have grown from the work of the British-Irish Council.

Mr Murphy was speaking as he welcomed the publication of the first British- Irish Council (BIC) Report which he said showed "the breadth of work in which the BIC is now involved and I am confident that it can build on its already impressive work programme".

"The British-Irish Council was established under the Belfast Agreement to promote the harmonious and mutually beneficial development of the relationships among the member states," the Minister said.

"The Council continues to play a role in supporting the Northern Ireland peace process and has also forged new and productive working relationships that would otherwise not have existed."

The Secretary of State also highlighted the lead role that Northern Ireland has taken in the area of transport.

"Northern Ireland is in the lead in the Transport sector of the British-Irish Council and, along with other administrations, has been exploring the scope for co-operation," he said.

"This includes areas such as Integrated Transport, Public Private Partnerships and Road Safety, in particular driving and misuse of drugs and the mutual recognition of driving disqualifications.

"Given the high volume of vehicles travelling between member administrations these are clearly issues that are of relevance to us all."

The British-Irish Council (BIC) was established under the Belfast Agreement to "promote the harmonious and mutually beneficial development of the totality of relationships among the peoples of these islands".

Membership of the BIC comprises representatives of the British and Irish governments, devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland together with the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.

(MB)