Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Belfast Agreement 1998 provides for a role for the government of the Republic of Ireland in Strand One talks where the discussions are about Northern Irish internal affairs.

As the Noble Lord is aware, the involvement of the Irish Government in cross-party talks is in accordance with the established three-stranded approach to Northern Ireland affairs and the 1998 Belfast Agreement. This provides that Northern Ireland’s internal arrangements are for the Northern Ireland parties and the United Kingdom Government alone to decide. A commitment always to stand by that principle was contained in the Government’s Northern Ireland Manifesto at the General Election.