Monday 11 June 2018 The Assembly met at 9.20 am. PLENARY BUSINESS INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS The Co-Chairperson (Mr Andrew Rosindell MP): Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. The Assembly is now in public session. I remind everyone to turn off their mobile phones and electronic devices or to put them to silent mode, please. When Members are invited to contribute from the floor, they should clearly state their name and which legislature they come from. I remind Members that the proceedings of the British- Irish Parliamentary Assembly do not attract parliamentary privilege. It gives me great pleasure to formally congratulate our colleague, Seán Crowe TD, on his appointment yesterday evening as the new Irish Co-Chair of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly. I wish him well in his new role and look forward to working closely with him in taking forward the important work of the Assembly. Unfortunately, Deputy Crowe is unavoidably absent from this Monday’s session but he will join us this evening. I am pleased to welcome the Vice-Chair, Mr Declan Breathnach, who will take over the Co-Chair duties for this Monday’s plenary session. I look forward to working with him today. On behalf of all Members, I put on record our thanks to our former Co-Chair, Kathleen Funchion TD, who oversaw several memorable plenary sessions, including on a visit to her beautiful home city of Kilkenny last year. I note the Assembly’s deep regret at the recent passing of Lord Peter Temple-Morris, who was a founding Co-Chair of the Assembly. As the first United Kingdom Co-Chair, Peter helped to foster closer relations between our Parliaments and enabled us to look at the issues that our islands face. He was a dedicated and much-respected politician and we hope to honour his memory by continuing to forge strong relationships and build on the important work that he commenced. I welcome all Members to the County of Sligo – this beautiful county of Yeats poetry and of the breathtaking scenery of the Wild Atlantic Way – for the 56th plenary session of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly. We are delighted to host this plenary session in the established Sligo Park Hotel, which overlooks the majestic mountain of Benbulben. All Members have been circulated with an up-to-date list of BIPA membership in their briefing packs. In accordance with rule 2(a), the following Associate Members have been accepted by invitation of the Steering Committee to assume the powers and responsibilities of Members for the whole of the session: Senator Gerry Horkan, Viscount Bridgeman, the Rt Hon Lord Kilclooney and Dai Lloyd. Apologies have been received from Senator Diarmuid Wilson, Deputy Seán Canney, Deputy Kathleen Funchion, Deputy Joe Carey, Darren Millar AM, Jayne Bryant AM and Deputy Kevin Lewis. We note the absence of colleagues who are unable to travel due to the requirement to attend the House of Commons – the challenges of parliamentary life are familiar to us all. Apologies have therefore been received from Andrew Bridgen MP, Vernon Coaker MP, the Rt Hon Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP, Stephen Doughty MP, Paul Farrelly MP, Vicky Ford MP, Stephen Hepburn MP, Helen Jones MP, Conor McGinn MP, Nigel Mills MP, David Morris MP, Martin Vickers MP, Rosie Cooper MP, Jack Lopresti MP, Lord Lexden, Baroness O’Cathain, Nigel Evans MP and Baroness Suttie. I apologise again for the absence of so many UK Westminster parliamentarians. I offer our congratulations to our friend and colleague, Senator John Le Fondré of Jersey, who has been elected as Chief Minister of the Bailiwick of Jersey. We give him our heartfelt congratulations. [Applause.] The sad side of that is that John will cease to be a Member of BIPA in his own right but we have no doubt that he will come back to address the Assembly as one of the chief ministers in these islands. Congratulations, John, and good luck with your appointment. Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me pleasure to hand over to the Co-Chair for this morning, Declan Breathnach. PROGRAMME OF BUSINESS The Vice-Chairperson (Mr Declan Breathnach TD): Item 2 is the adoption of the proposed programme of business. I thank Andrew Rosindell for his kind remarks and I, too, acknowledge the commitment of our previous Co-Chair and colleague, Deputy Kathleen Funchion. I know that we will all work in a spirit of co-operation and partnership over this plenary session to make the Assembly even more relevant and topical. Members will have received a copy of the proposed programme of business. We are, of course, delighted to be marking two significant anniversaries as part of the programme this year: the 100th anniversary of votes for women and the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement. We look forward to stimulating discussions on those issues. As the negotiations on the United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union continue, Brexit will be a feature throughout our debates. We are delighted to welcome Ireland’s Ombudsman for Children and the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, who have worked together to highlight the potential impact of Brexit on our young citizens. We will also be examining the challenges that face border and rural regions, many of which are common across all our jurisdictions. We will hear, too, from one of our cross-border bodies, the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), on the important projects and programmes that it manages through the EU PEACE and INTERREG funds. We are looking forward to hearing shortly from Minister of State Joe McHugh, who is a former BIPA Co-Chair. The minister will provide the Irish Government update on Irish- British relations. Later, we will hear from the British ambassador, His Excellency Robin Barnett. We will finish our session with a panel of female parliamentarians, who will discuss issues facing women in politics today across the BIPA jurisdictions. Indeed, two of our steering committee Members – Karin Smyth MP and Ann Jones AM – along with Christina McKelvie MSP, Rosemary Barton MLA and BIPA Member Senator Catherine Noone will participate on that panel. Addressing issues around equal participation remains a challenge in many of our Parliaments and Assemblies. I look forward to hearing from our female colleagues, who will give us valuable insights from their experience. Indeed, we need to increase efforts to ensure stronger representation of female politicians across our membership. We expect to conclude today around 5.30 pm, which will give Members the opportunity to freshen up ahead of travelling to Markree Castle for the reception and formal dinner. We are delighted that three committees will present reports to the Assembly. The first will be this afternoon, when we will hear from Lord Dubs, who will present Committee D’s follow- up report on child obesity to the Assembly and give an update on the next series of meetings that are planned by Committee D. On Tuesday morning, we will begin with an address marking the 100th anniversary of votes for women and we will hear from Professor Sonja Tiernan of Liverpool Hope University. That will incorporate links to the beautiful county of Sligo, as she presents her paper “The “Votes for Women” Campaign: From Lissadell House to the House of Commons”. We will then hear a progress report from Committees A, B and C and will deal with a number of other matters of housekeeping business. The Assembly will adjourn at 12.15 on Tuesday. It is very fitting to have a plenary in this beautiful and historic county of Sligo as we discuss the future challenges that will impact not only on politics but on all our citizens’ lives. It would be remiss of me not to mention a historic and poignant moment in our shared history that took place here in Sligo just over three years ago when Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall visited the village of Mullaghmore, just 20km from where we are presently, and paid tribute to the memory of the prince’s uncle, Lord Henry Mountbatten. That visit was a measure of how far we have come in recent years in working together to address our history and to continue together on a path towards peace and reconciliation. I now move formally to the adoption of the proposed programme of business. Is that programme agreed? Programme of Business agreed. WELCOME BY THE CATHAOIRLEACH OF SLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL 9.30 am The Co-Chairperson (Mr Andrew Rosindell MP): I am pleased to invite the Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council, Councillor Seamus Kilgallon, to address the Assembly. We are delighted to be here in the county of Sligo and it is a great privilege for us that Councillor Kilgallon has been able to come and address us this morning. Members, please give the Cathaoirleach a warm welcome to the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly. [Applause.] The Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council (Councillor Seamus Kilgallon): Co-Chairs of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, Minister of State Joe McHugh, chief executive of Sligo County Council Ciarán Hayes, guest speakers, special guests and friends, it is a great pleasure to formally welcome each and every one of you here today. It is a privilege for our community to host this important forum. In recent times, Sligo has become a favourite venue for meetings and launches of national significance. We recently hosted a Government Cabinet meeting in advance of the launch of the national planning framework. Today, we are honoured by the presence of the members of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Although people might have a general awareness of the work of the Assembly, I see its visit as an opportunity to inform people of the background to this forum, to outline its objectives and to highlight its many achievements.