The British–Irish Council (BIC; ; ) is an intergovernmental organisation that aims to improve collaboration between its members in a number of areas including transport, the environment and energy. Its membership comprises the governments of Ireland, the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man.
The British and Irish governments, and political parties in Northern Ireland, agreed to form a council under the British–Irish Agreement, part of the Good Friday Agreement reached in 1998. The council was formally established on 2 December 1999, when the Agreement came into effect. The council's stated aim is to "promote the harmonious and mutually beneficial development of the totality of relationships among the peoples of these islands". The BIC has a standing secretariat, located in Edinburgh, Scotland; it meets in semi-annual summits and more frequent ministerial meetings.
Background
The British–Irish Council was established on 10 April 1998 following two years worth of negotiations between the UK and Irish Governments alongside the political parties in Northern Ireland on the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, a political organisation was to be established in order to foster and provide opportunities to greater integral working between both the UK and Irish governments, and later the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Multi-Party agreement between both the UK and Irish governments formally came into effect on 2 December 1999.
Since its formation, the heads of governments of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey have met biannually during the Heads of Administrations summit. The first meeting of the British–Irish council took place on 17 December 1999. The first meeting was hosted by the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Tony Blair in London.
In 2006, the St. Andrews Agreement was signed in order to establish a standing permanent Secretariat to the British–Irish Council. The establishment of the position was designed to "further the British-Irish Council work". The Permanent Secretariat was established six years later in Edinburgh, following an agreement between council members at the summit in 2010 hosted by Guernsey that the Scottish Government would be the Permanent Secretariat host. The Secretariat was formally established in January 2012.
In 2023, the summits held in Jersey and the Republic of Ireland marked twenty-five years since the Good Friday Agreement, whilst the 42nd summit hosted by Scotland in December 2024 marked twenty-five years since the inaugural meeting of the council.
Overview and structure
The nine heads of government meet at summits twice per year. Additionally, there are regular meetings that deal with specific sectors which are attended by the corresponding ministers. Representatives of members operate in accordance with whatever procedures for democratic authority and accountability are in force in their respective elected legislatures.
England, unlike the other countries of the United Kingdom, is not represented separately, as it does not have its own devolved administration. It is thus solely represented on the council as part of the United Kingdom. Although Cornwall technically holds observer status on the Council due to its language, it is also represented by the UK government.
The work of the council is financed by members through mutual agreement as required. At the ninth meeting of the Council in July 2007 it was decided that with devolved government returned to Northern Ireland that an opportune time existed "to undertake a strategic review of the Council's work programmes, working methods and support arrangements." This decision included the potential for a permanent standing secretariat, which was established in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 4 January 2012.
At its June 2010 summit, the Council decided to move forward on recommendations to enhance the relationship between it and the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA). The British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly is made up of members from the parliaments and assemblies of the same states and regions as the members of the British–Irish Council. The Council tasked its secretariat with moving this work forward in conjunction with the BIPA's secretariat.
Work areas
The Council agrees to specific work areas for which individual members take responsibility. The Belfast Agreement suggested transport links, agriculture, environmental issues, culture, health, education and approaches to the European Union as suitable topics for early discussion. However, these work areas can be expanded or reduced as the Council decides. It is also open to the council to make agreement on common policies. These agreements are made through consensus, although individual members may opt not to participate in implementing any of these.
The current list of work areas and the member responsible are:
Collaborative spatial planning (Northern Ireland) Demography (Scotland) Digital inclusion (Isle of Man) Early years policy (Wales) Energy (United Kingdom – Electricity Grids, and Scotland – Marine) Environment (United Kingdom) Housing (Northern Ireland) Indigenous, minority and lesser-used languages (Wales) Misuse of Substances (drugs and alcohol) (Ireland) Social inclusion (Scotland and Wales) Transport (Northern Ireland) Creative Industries (Jersey)
Demography was adopted as a work area at the 2006 meeting of the council. It was proposed by the Scottish Executive, who also took responsibility for it. During the 2007 meeting of the council the Scottish Government further proposed that energy become a work area of the council. Past work sector areas included knowledge economy, e-health / telemedicine and tourism.
Membership
Member administrations Member Type Membership status Represented since UK Government Sovereign state Full 1999 Government of Ireland Scottish Government Devolved government Welsh Government Northern Ireland Executive Government of Jersey Crown dependency Isle of Man Government Government of Guernsey
Advisors Advisor Type Status Represented since Cornwall Council Unitary authority Advisor on the Cornish language 2023
Current leaders
Membership of the Council consists of the following administrations (with current heads of administrations ):
Member Representative(s)Party Title United Kingdom Andy Burnham Labour Co-op Prime MinisterIreland Micheál Martin Fianna Fáil Taoiseach Simon HarrisFine Gael Tánaiste Scotland John Swinney Scottish National Party First Minister Wales Rhun ap Iorwerth Plaid Cymru First MinisterNorthern Ireland Michelle O'Neill Sinn FéinFirst Minister Emma Little-Pengelly Democratic Unionist PartyDeputy First Minister Jersey Deputy Lyndon FarnhamIndependent Chief Minister Isle of Man Alfred Cannan Independent Chief Minister Guernsey Deputy Lindsay de SausmarezIndependent Chief Minister
Name of the Council
Initial suggestions for the council included the names Council of the British Isles or Council of the Isles, and the council has sometimes been known by the latter name. However, owing to sensitivities around the term British Isles, particularly in Ireland, the name British–Irish Council was agreed.
The official name of the council is represented in minority and lesser-used languages of the council as:
Guernésiais: 1/1999: AN tACHT UM CHOMHAONTÚ NA BREATAINE-NA hÉIREANN, 1999 Jèrriais:
Ulster-Scots:
Summits
Number Date Host Host leader(s) Location held Communique/reference 1st 17 December 1999 United Kingdom Tony Blair London 2nd 30 November 2001 Ireland Bertie Ahern Dublin 3rd 14 June 2002 Jersey Pierre Horsfall Saint Helier 4th 22 November 2002 Scotland Jack McConnell New Lanark 5th 28 November 2003 Wales Rhodri Morgan St Fagans National History Museum, Cardiff 6th 28 November 2004 Guernsey Laurie Morgan Castle Cornet 7th 20 May 2005 Isle of Man Donald Gelling Villa Marina, Douglas 8th 2 June 2006 United Kingdom John Prescott ExCeL Conference Centre, London 9th 16 July 2007 Northern Ireland Ian PaisleyMartin McGuinness Parliament Buildings, Belfast 10th 14 February 2008 Ireland Bertie Ahern Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin 11th 26 September 2008 Scotland Alex Salmond Hopetoun House, South Queensferry 12th 20 February 2009 Wales Rhodri Morgan SWALEC Stadium, Cardiff 13th 13 November 2009 Jersey Terry Le Sueur Radisson Hotel, Saint Helier 14th 25 June 2010 Guernsey Lyndon Trott Fermain Valley Hotel, Saint Peter Port 15th 13 December 2010 Isle of Man Tony Brown Sefton Hotel, Douglas 16th 20 June 2011 United Kingdom Nick Clegg Lancaster House, London 17th 13 January 2012 Ireland Enda Kenny Dublin Castle, Dublin 18th 22 June 2012 Scotland Alex Salmond Stirling Castle, Stirling 19th 26 November 2012 Wales Carwyn Jones Cardiff Castle, Cardiff 20th 21 June 2013 Northern Ireland Peter RobinsonMartin McGuinness Magee College, Derry 21st 15 November 2013 Jersey Ian Gorst L’Horizon Hotel, Saint Brélade 22nd 13 June 2014 Guernsey Jonathan Le Tocq St. Pierre Park Hotel, Saint Peter Port 23rd 28 November 2014 Isle of Man Allan Bell Villa Marina Complex, Douglas 24th 19 June 2015 Ireland Enda Kenny Dublin Castle, Dublin 25th 27 November 2015 United Kingdom Theresa Villiers Lancaster House, London 26th 17 June 2016 Scotland Nicola Sturgeon Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow 27th Extraordinary 22 July 2016 Wales Carwyn Jones Cathays Park, Cardiff 28th 25 November 2016 Wales Carwyn Jones Cathays Park, Cardiff 29th 10 November 2017 Jersey Ian Gorst L’Horizon Hotel, St. Brelade 30th 22 June 2018 Guernsey Gavin St Pier St Pierre Park Hotel, Saint Peter Port 31st 9 November 2018 Isle of Man Howard Quayle Isle of Man 32nd 28 June 2019 United Kingdom David Lidington Manchester 33rd 15 November 2019 Ireland Leo Varadkar Dublin 34th 6 November 2020 Scotland Nicola Sturgeon via video conferencing 35th 11 June 2021 Northern Ireland Arlene Foster and Michelle O’Neill Lough Erne resort, Fermanagh 36th 19 November 2021 Wales Mark Drakeford Cardiff 37th 8 July 2022 Guernsey Peter Ferbrache St. Pierre Park Hotel, Saint Peter Port 38th11 November 2022United Kingdom Rishi SunakBlackpool39th16 June 2023JerseyKristina MooreSt Brelade40th24 November 2023IrelandLeo VaradkarDublin Castle 41st 21 June 2024 Isle of Man Alfred Cannan Isle of Man 42nd5–6 December 2024ScotlandJohn SwinneyEdinburgh43rd9 June 2025Northern IrelandMichelle O'Neill and Emma Little-PengellyBelfast44th1 December 2025WalesEluned MorganCardiff45th10 July 2026GuernseyLindsay de SausmarezSaint Peter Port
See also Council of Ireland North/South Ministerial Council British–Irish Intergovernmental Conference British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly Interparliamentary Forum Council of Nations and Regions East–West Council
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