Leinster House and Northern Assembly politicians gathered at Parliament Buildings, Stormont, yesterday to mark the formation of a North-South Inter- Parliamentary Association.
The first co-chairs of the association are the Ceann Comhairle, Seán Barrett, and the Speaker of the Assembly, William Hay, it was announced at Stormont following a joint meetings of Assembly and Leinster House working groups which set up the association.
The association will have 48 members, with membership drawn in equal numbers from the Assembly and the Dáil and Seanad. It will meet twice annually on a rotational basis.
The first plenary meeting will take place in Dublin on October 12th.
Mr Barrett said the formation of the association was a “very significant day” for the Assembly and the Oireachtas.
Mr Hay said the association would “provide a platform for the natural engagement between neighbouring legislatures and builds on the regular contact which already exists between committees of each institution”.
