Minister Charlie Flanagan Meets With Secretary Of State

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade has had his first meeting with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland following her reappointment.

Charlie Flanagan and Theresa Villiers discussed the current political impasse within the Northern Ireland Executive.

Minister Flanagan said: "Our shared aim is to support the parties with a view to seeing the implementation of the Stormont House Agreement get back on track. Political stasis in Northern Ireland benefits no-one.

"The meeting provided an opportunity also to set out at this early point in the British Government's new term in office a number of long-standing issues on which there is an opportunity now to make progress.

"I reminded the Secretary of State of previous commitments made to look afresh at what the British Government could do to respond to the Dáil motions in relation to the Dublin and Monaghan bombings.

"I also briefed her on my meeting with Justice for the Forgotten last Friday on the eve of ceremonies in Dublin to mark the 41st anniversary of the bombings.

"We also discussed the Pat Finucane case. I made clear that the Irish Government considers there was a political commitment made at the highest level by both Governments at Weston Park in 2001 in relation to the holding of public inquiries in a number of controversial cases and that this commitment remains unfulfilled in the case of Pat Finucane."

(CD/JP)