British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA) marks 30th anniversary of Downing Street Declaration - forerunner to Good Friday Agreement

The body was established to promote cooperation between the Houses of Parliament and the Houses of the Oireachtas.

In 1993 Prime Minister John Major and Irish Prime Minister Albert Reynolds delivered the Downing Street Declaration deal, which argued for self-determination on the basis of consensus for all the people of the island of Ireland.

"This was a major achievement in the bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Ireland and laid the groundwork for the Good Friday Agreement," said BIPA co-chairs Brendan Smith TD, and Karen Bradley MP.

“The Downing Street Declaration was agreed at an extremely fraught and difficult time in the Troubles. It was a leap of faith by leaders who had the courage to trust in a better future. BIPA pays tribute to John Major, Albert Reynolds and all those who worked with them to put this historic agreement in place.

"The British Irish Interparliamentary Body (as it was then known) was meeting in London when the Declaration was agreed. We hoped then that the Declaration would be important, but we could not have known that it would be the beginning of a remarkable transformation in British-Irish cooperation over the decades to come.”

“While the 30th anniversary of the Downing Street Declaration is an opportunity to reflect on the success of the relationship between the United Kingdom and Ireland over the last 30 years, it is also a reminder of how far we still have to go in fulfilling the promise of the Peace Process. In particular, it is deeply regrettable that the Northern Ireland Executive and the Northern Ireland Assembly are not functioning.

"This in turn is an obstacle to the functioning of the North South Ministerial Council. These institutions are essential to ensuring that peace, stability, and reconciliation embrace the totality of relationships on these islands.

“As Co-Chairs of the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly we call for urgent restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive.”