Strand III - British Irish Relations

British-Irish Council

The British-Irish Council was established under Strand III of the Good Friday Agreement to promote the harmonious and mutually beneficial development of the totality of the relationships among the people of these islands. The Council was formally established by a supplementary British-Irish Agreement signed by the two Governments on 8 March 1999 which entered into force on 2 December 1999.

Membership of the British-Irish Council comprises representatives of the Irish and British Governments, the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, together with representatives of the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey. The Council meets at Summit level as well in specific sectoral formats at both Ministerial and official level. 

Work is currently being taken forward in eleven priority work areas. Each area is led by one or more BIC Members. The current areas of work and their respective lead administrations are as follows:

  • Misuse of Drugs (Ireland)
  • Environment (UK)
  • Social Inclusion (Scotland and Wales)
  • Transport (Northern Ireland);
  • Indigenous, Minority and Lesser-Used Languages (Wales)
  • Demography (Scotland) 
  • Energy (UK and Scotland)
  • Early Years Policy (Wales)
  • Collaborative Spatial Planning (Northern Ireland)
  • Digital Inclusion (Isle of Man)
  • Housing (Northern Ireland)

  The 14th Summit of the BIC took place in Guernsey on the 25 June 2010..

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