Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the Belfast Agreement, (2) the involvement of the Republic of Ireland in the internal affairs of Northern Ireland, (3) Northern Ireland’s status as part of the UK, and (4) human rights in (a) Northern Ireland, and (b) the Republic of Ireland.

This Government remains steadfastly committed to the Belfast Agreement, including the political institutions it seeks to establish and the rights that it guarantees. The Agreement, along with its successors, has been the bedrock of the significant progress that has been made in Northern Ireland over the last 22 years. Any involvement of the Irish Government in the internal affairs of Northern Ireland remains consistent with the well-established three-stranded approach to Northern Ireland affairs in the 1998 Belfast Agreement.

The Agreement confirmed that whether Northern Ireland remains part of the UK depends on the consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland. Section 1 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, reaffirms that Northern Ireland is part of the UK and shall not cease to be so without the consent of its people.

While this Government’s clear preference is for Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom it has always made clear that, in accordance with the 1998 Agreement, it is for the people of Northern Ireland to decide. It remains the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland's view that a majority of the people of Northern Ireland continue to support Northern Ireland's place in the United Kingdom and that this is unlikely to change for the foreseeable future.