§ The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos)My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has made the following Statement.
Under Section 11(1) of the Northern Ireland (Monitoring Commission etc.) Act 2003, I am required to lay before Parliament each year a report on the operation of the agreement between the British and Irish Governments that established the Independent Monitoring Commission and the operation of the relevant provisions inserted into the Northern Ireland Act 1998.
The first annual report, published today, covers the 12-month period to 18 September 2004. The report sets out the steps that have been taken to establish the IMC in accordance with the agreement between the two Governments.
The report refers to the two IMC reports published in the reporting period, and describes the actions taken as a consequence of those reports. The various documents and reports referred to in my annual report are all in the public domain.
The IMC continues to fulfil an important and valuable role in Northern Ireland and I am grateful to the commissioners for their dedication and efforts to date.