Cross-border Co-operation

HC Deb 30 June 1988 vol 136 c337W

Mr. Ian Bruce

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the present state of cross-border co-operation.

Mr. Stanley

Co-operation takes place over a wide range of activities, and we and the Irish Government are committed to developing it further. Since the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement a number of improvements in cross-border security co-operation have been made, and at the meeting of the Anglo-Irish Conference on 17 June British and Irish Ministers discussed a number of issues with a view to enhancing further cross-border co-operation on security matters. The conference also agreed to consider ways in which bilateral contacts between British and Irish Ministers on economic and social questions might be reinforced.