Joint Communiqué - North South Ministerial Council Thirtieth Plenary Meeting Farmleigh House, Dublin 17 October 2025

1. The thirtieth Plenary meeting of the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) was held in Farmleigh House, Dublin, on 17 October 2025.

2. The Government of Ireland was led by the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin TD, who chaired the meeting. The Northern Ireland Executive was led by the First Minister, Michelle O’Neill MLA, and the deputy First Minister, Emma Little-Pengelly MLA. A full list of the members of both delegations is attached as an Annex.

3. The Council had an exchange of views on international and domestic business and trade developments since the last Plenary meeting, including the UK-US and EU-US trade deals.

4. Ministers recalled that in what remains an evolving international trading environment, the two Administrations will remain engaged with one another on business and trade matters.

5. The Council also recalled that, where appropriate, the NSMC sectors should continue to consider how agreed collaborative approaches can contribute to the promotion of economic growth.

6. Ministers noted that the most recent combined figures for trade in goods and services between the two jurisdictions show a total value of £12.4/€14.3 billion.

7. The Council welcomed the hosting of the 28th TCI Global Conference on 14-16 October by InterTradeIreland, in partnership with Invest Northern Ireland and Enterprise Ireland.

8. The NSMC welcomed the regular and ongoing collaboration between officials in both jurisdictions on civil contingencies, resilience and emergency preparedness and agreed to enhance strategic co-operation between the Office of Emergency Planning in the Department of Defence and the Civil Contingencies Division in The Executive Office.

9. Ministers welcomed the developing collaboration between Ireland’s National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management and the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service including on investment cooperation and collaboration on the training facilities and capacity of both services.

10. The Council welcomed the ongoing engagement between system operators to coordinate mitigations and supports in the event of power system emergencies in the Single Electricity Market.

11. The NSMC agreed that both Administrations will remain in close contact during the upcoming winter storm season, given the significant impacts both jurisdictions experienced during Storm Éowyn and the support that was provided on a cross- jurisdictional basis.

12. The NSMC noted that engagement on a wide range of policy areas continues across all NSMC areas of cooperation and that NSMC meetings across all sectors are in the process of being arranged for the autumn/winter period

13. The Council further noted that Ministers at the relevant sectoral meetings have discussed climate change and loss of biodiversity.

14. The NSMC noted the decision of the Department for Infrastructure to appeal the judgement against the A5 Western Transport Corridor, and noted that the appeal is scheduled to be heard in December 2025.

15. Ministers noted that Waterways Ireland continues to progress Phase 3 (Castle Saunderson to Clonfad) of the Ulster Canal restoration project and that the Narrow Water Bridge main construction project is proceeding to schedule

16. The NSMC noted the continued collaboration to progress the All-Island Strategic Rail Review's recommendations and welcomed the increase in passenger numbers through the hourly service introduced on the Belfast-Dublin corridor.

17. Ministers noted the progress that has been made on the Ulster University, Magee Expansion Project and welcomed the submission of the formal planning application for the construction of a new teaching block.

18. The Council welcomed the progress that has been made on delivery of collaborative Research and Innovation programmes.

19. The NSMC welcomed the official opening of the Carlingford Lough Greenway, noted the progression into Phase 3 for the Sligo to Enniskillen Greenway and recognised the continued cross-border collaboration on other greenway projects, including the Ulster Canal Greenway.

20. Ministers welcomed the significant stakeholder engagement undertaken by the Government of Ireland to aid the advancement of its Programme for Government commitment to establishing air connectivity between Dublin and City of Derry airports with a view to publishing a Market Sounding Exercise this year, and ongoing interaction with NI Executive counterparts on the approach.

21. The Council welcomed the progress on the implementation of the PEACEPLUS programme and the discussions with relevant stakeholders on a successor to the current PEACEPLUS Programme.

22. Recognising the unacceptably high levels of Gender Based Violence/ Violence Against Women and Girls, prevalent in both jurisdictions, the Council agreed that there is opportunity for potential collaboration in respect of initiatives with a protection focus, including child protection in the context of gender-based violence.

23. Ministers also agreed that there is opportunity for joint working on prevention-focused interventions through all-island awareness-raising initiatives.

24. The Council recognised that human trafficking for sexual exploitation is a significant issue in both jurisdictions, which also has a cross-border dimension, and agreed that there is opportunity for co-operation in this area.

25. Ministers approved an indicative schedule of future NSMC sectoral meetings, a meeting in Institutional format and the next Plenary meeting in Spring 2026.

Joint Secretariat

17 October 2025

website www.northsouthministerialcouncil.org