One year on from the visit of Queen Elizabeth II, the chamber of Seanad Éireann will for the first time host a meeting of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, which will be addressed this afternoon by Taoiseach Enda Kenny.
Originally known as the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body, it was established in 1990, during the Troubles in the North, as a parliamentary link between London and Dublin. Membership now includes the Scottish Parliament, Northern Ireland Assembly, Welsh Assembly, the Isle of Man’s High Court of Tynwald and the States of Guernsey and Jersey.
Mr Kenny will speak on “Making business easier between Britain and Ireland”, which is the main theme of the two-day meeting. The assembly will also discuss a motion from Labour MP and former Northern Ireland secretary of state Paul Murphy on the announced closure of the RTÉ office in London. Other speakers at the opening session include Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar and Minister of State for Primary Care Róisín Shortall.
