DUP delegates’ historic address to parliamentary body'
The party has never before taken part in a meeting of the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body (BIIPB) despite seats being reserved for it when it was founded 16 years ago.
The DUP delegation will be led by the party’s deputy leader, Peter Robinson, and includes three other Westminster MPs, Iris Robinson, Nigel Dodds and Jeffrey Donaldson.
They are expected to make an hour-long formal presentation to the body on Monday, April 24.
A party spokesman confirmed the DUP delegation would make a presentation at the event, similar to those it had delivered in other parts of Britain and Ireland, but would not be taking up its seats.
The 68-member body will meet for its 32nd plenary session in the Brehon Hotel, Killarney, Co Kerry, from April 23-24.
Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern is to deliver the keynote address on behalf of the Irish Government during the conference.
The BIIPB’s Irish co-chairman, Fianna Fáil’s Dublin North-West TD Pat Carey, said the conference - at which Northern issues will again dominate - was taking place at a crucial time in Irish-British relations.
Prime Minister Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern unveiled their blueprint for the way forward last week, announcing the recall of the Stormont Assembly next month.
The British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body was formally established in 1990 as a link between Westminster and Dublin, with 25 British and 25 Irish members drawn from the upper and lower houses of both parliaments. It also includes representatives from the Welsh Assembly, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Assembly and the Isle of Man and Channel Islands.
