The North-South Ministerial Council (NSMC) is set to conduct its inaugural assembly in over two and a half years, marking the conclusive formal engagement for Leo Varadkar in his tenure as Taoiseach. High-level dialogues involving Cabinet ministers and Northern representatives were stalled during the hiatus in power-sharing.
Following the reestablishment of the Northern Ireland Executive, the First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly will host Republic’s senior officials at the NSMC headquarters in Armagh. This event is scheduled for April 8th, a day prior to the predicted election of Simon Harris, the forthcoming Fine Gael leader, as the Taoiseach in the Dáil.
Both Mr Varadkar and Tánaiste Micheál Martin have updated their peers about this gathering, which is likely the closing Cabinet meet for the ex-leader of Fine Gael. A Government spokesperson disclosed this to be the maiden NSMC meeting after July 2021.
Ministers representing both sides of the Border will review an update on economic affairs and North-South collaboration and will strategise for subsequent ministerial level segmental meets. There are urgent calls to action including fulfilling the vacancies in North-South boards and appointment of provisional chief executives.
The spokesperson also mentioned the gathering’s significance in light of an €800 million fund allocated by the Irish Government for Northern projects such as the A5 road. This has been launched under the Shared Island scheme.
In other Cabinet discussions, Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys received the green light for the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Saving Systems Bill. This law aims to automatically enrol about 800,000 private sector workers without company pensions into a pension plan. Under this initiative, employees’ input of €3 will be matched by their employers, with the state topping up an extra €1. This was referred to by a representative as one of the most major pension system overhauls in the history of the state.
Additional approval was given to amendments on the Residential Tenancies Act by the Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris and the Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien. The aim of these changes is to restrict lease periods for accommodation specifically for tertiary education students to the academic year.
After noticing a trend of landlords moving to a leasing model of 51-weeks, the Government has expressed worry. The spokesperson for the government stated that although some tertiary level students may find this model suitable, it is not a financially viable or attractive option for most students. This situation contradicts their policy of looking to eradicate housing as an obstruction to pursuing higher education. The Government coalition aims to implement changes by the upcoming academic year.
Before his Cabinet meeting, Mr Varadkar revealed that he has attended approximately 650 such gatherings during his tenure as Minister and Taoiseach. Paschal Donohoe, the Fine Gael Minister for Public Expenditure, post-meeting, expressed that it felt like the “closure of a chapter”. He also affirmed that Mr Varadkar had always maintained a high level of professionalism during the meetings and the ministers expressed their gratitude towards him and his team. In his typical stoic manner, Mr Varadkar simply expressed his gratitude towards the team.