BRITISH-IRISH PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

Early day motion 1120, tabled 18 March 2009 by Michael Mates (Conservative). Signed by 43 members.

That this House warmly welcomes the formation in October 2008 of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly as the successor organisation to the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body, which has done a great deal since 1990 to consolidate the vastly improved relations between parliamentarians from Ireland and the UK as well as the devolved parliaments and assemblies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man; looks forward to the forthcoming plenary session to be held in Donegal at the end of March 2009; notes that the Assembly is now an inclusive organisation following the welcome decision of the two main Unionist parties in Northern Ireland to send representatives, along with the other major parties in Northern Ireland; further notes that the St Andrews Agreement envisages an East-West parliamentary framework; believes that the Assembly now has a very credible claim as the East-West parliamentary framework and could help provide backbench scrutiny of the work of the British-Irish Council, and more generally of issues that affect the peoples of these islands; and urges the Government to take the necessary steps to formalise this position, in co-operation with the Irish government.

Signatures by party: Labour 25, Liberal Democrat 6, Conservative 4, Scottish National Party 3, Social Democratic and Labour Party 3, Plaid Cymru 1.