Editing British Isles (section)

===British–Irish Council===
{{Main|British–Irish Council}}

Another body established under the Good Friday Agreement, the British–Irish Council, is made up of all of the states and territories of the British Isles. The [[British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly]] ({{langx|ga|Tionól Pharlaiminteach na Breataine agus na hÉireann}}) predates the British–Irish Council and was established in 1990. Originally it comprised 25 members of the [[Oireachtas]], the Irish parliament, and 25 members of the [[parliament of the United Kingdom]], with the purpose of building mutual understanding between members of both legislatures. Since then the role and scope of the body has been expanded to include representatives from the [[Scottish Parliament]], the [[Senedd]] (Welsh Parliament), the [[Northern Ireland Assembly]], the [[States of Jersey]], the [[States of Guernsey]] and the [[High Court of Tynwald]] (Isle of Man).

The Council does not have executive powers but meets biannually to discuss issues of mutual importance. Similarly, the Parliamentary Assembly has no legislative powers but investigates and collects witness evidence from the public on matters of mutual concern to its members. Reports on its findings are presented to the Governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom. During the February 2008 meeting of the British–Irish Council, it was agreed to set up a standing secretariat that would serve as a permanent 'civil service' for the Council.<ref>[Communiqué of the British-Irish Council], February 2008{{full citation needed |date=October 2020}}</ref> Leading on from developments in the British–Irish Council, the chair of the British–Irish Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, [[Niall Blaney]], has suggested that the body should shadow the British–Irish Council's work.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Purdy |first=Martina |date=28 February 2008 |title=Unionists urged to drop boycott |work=[[BBC News]] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7268911.stm |access-date=26 May 2023}}</ref>