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Politics in Ireland


The island of Ireland comprises two political jurisdictions:

Since the enactment of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1922, these two jurisdictions have been governed separately. The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 created a framework of shared political institutions between the two parts of Ireland, and also facilitated the restoration of self-government to Northern Ireland, subject to a number of reserved and excepted matters.

Thus, there are three administrations that govern Ireland:

In addition to these, both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom are member states of the European Union.

The Good Friday Agreement established three bodies between the three administrations:

The purpose of the North/South Ministerial Council is to agree and implement policies common to or shared by both jurisdictions in at least 12 areas where Northern Ireland has competency. At least six of these must to be areas where policy is agreed together but implemented separately through existing agencies in each jurisdiction. At least six further areas of co-operate must be areas were policy is agreed together and implemented through all-island or cross-border agencies. For example, food safety is managed by the all-Ireland Food Safety Promotion Board whereas transport policies may be agreed together but are implemented separately in each jurisdiction.

The British–Irish Intergovernmental Conference is a forum through which the two sovereign governments can reach consensus on areas of mutual interest, including the government of Northern Ireland. Lastly, the North/South Inter-Parliamentary Association is an joint parliamentary forum created between the national parliament of the Republic of Ireland (the Oireachtas) and the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Good Friday Agreement also envisages a consultative forum formed from members of civil society, the North/South Consultative Forum. However, this has yet to be established.


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