Good Friday Agreement bodies should be used to increase UK/Irish contacts

The British Irish Parliament Assembly said Brexit had resulted in less informal contact between British and Irish officials and politicians.

(front row, centre left to right) Karen Bradley MP and Brendan Smith TD, with assembly members and delegates at the 62nd plenary of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly (PA) (PA Wire)

The untapped potential of political bodies created by the Good Friday Agreement should be used to increase UK/Irish relations post-Brexit, parliamentarians have urged.

The British Irish Parliament Assembly, which brings together lawmakers from Westminster and the Oireachtas parliament in Dublin, said a reduction of contact between officials and politicians following Brexit has negatively affected the UK-Irish relationship.

The BIPA held its 62nd plenary sitting in Co Cavan this week.

A new report by the Assembly’s Sovereign Affairs Committee highlighted that, before Brexit, UK and Irish representatives met regularly at official and ministerial levels during EU proceedings.

It noted that the offices of their respective delegations were located next door to each other in Brussels.

These regular contacts offered opportunities to build informal relationships which helped mutual understanding and cooperation, the committee said.

It has now called on both governments to maximise the potential of other structures, established under the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement, to find new ways to increase informal relations.

It said formal meetings of both parties through the British Irish Council and the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference should be “less episodic” and not only focused on crisis events.

The lawmakers said their own body – the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly – could also be further developed as a forum to address bilateral issues.

Committee chair Senator Emer Currie said: “Regular contact, formal and informal, have been the bedrock of the relationship between our two countries, and it was strongest when they were most regular.

“It took Brexit to realise just how important it had been.

“We don’t think new bodies or institutions are necessary to recreate the contact we had.

“Instead, regularising and prioritising meetings of the institutions of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, as well as widening their scope, should go a long way to further deepening our close and historical ties.

“The very nature of Brexit means a potential divergence in law and regulation.

“We need a plan to build understanding and cooperation even if we choose different paths.”