11. Letter to the Chairman of the Committee from the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH IRELAND
Following the successful restoration of devolution in Northern Ireland yesterday, I am pleased to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with Ireland. This treaty reaffirms both Governments' commitment to protect, support and where appropriate implement the provisions of the Belfast Agreement, subject to the alterations to the operation of the institutions agreed at St Andrews.
As you may be aware, this Agreement was signed on 22 March and laid before Parliament as a Command Paper (Cm 7078) on 18 April in the wake of the 26 March breakthrough and Easter recess. Copies of the Agreement and its accompanying Explanatory Memorandum have already been distributed to members of your Committee.
As you know, the tenets of this Agreement have been considered by Parliament during the passage of the Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006. Following the successful restoration of devolution to Northern Ireland on 8 May, I consider it appropriate in these circumstances to truncate the standard 21-day laying period under the Ponsonby Rule to ensure the Agreement can be brought into force as soon as possible. This will provide swift formal clarity to the agreed alterations to the arrangements and institutions established by the Belfast Agreement of 1998, and ensure a shared understanding of the St Andrews Agreement commitments across these islands. To that effect, notes of completion will therefore be exchanged today with the lrish Government.
I will make a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament today explaining my reasons for truncating the Ponsonby laying period on this occasion, and I am writing in similar terms to the Northern Ireland Affairs and Public Accounts Committees.
Rt Hon Peter Hain MP
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
9 May 2007
| 
