IOM To Host British-Irish Council Meeting

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

12 May 2005

The Isle of Man will play host to government leaders from across the British-Irish Council region later this month when the Council summit is held here for the first time.

The historic meeting of senior representatives from the UK, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey takes place in the Villa Marina, Douglas, on Friday May 20.

The seventh BIC summit will be chaired by Chief Minister Donald Gelling MLC and its main theme will be the application of telemedicine to modernise the delivery of health and social care. The Isle of Man leads the Council's work on this issue.

Established under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, the British-Irish Council promotes the development of harmonious, mutually beneficial relations and provides a forum for discussion, exchange of information and co-operation between its Members.

The Chief Minister commented: 'I am very proud - on behalf of the government and people of the Isle of Man - that the Island is able to host such a prestigious gathering of national leaders in the impressive surroundings of the Villa Marina.'

Mr Gelling continued: 'Involvement in the British-Irish Council has given the Isle of Man recognition and contacts at the highest level amongst the governments and administrations of our larger neighbours. It provides us with the opportunity to meet and talk to top politicians from the UK and Ireland, for example, in a way that we could not have dreamt of ten years ago.

'Membership of BIC in our own right has helped to promote understanding of the Isle of Man as a separate country with our own parliament, government and laws. We have been keen to play our part in the work of the Council over the past six years and we have benefited from exchanging ideas and information with our friends throughout these islands on a range of important issues affecting us all from misuse of drugs to the environment.

'Now it is our turn to provide the venue for the summit meeting and I look forward to welcoming delegates to the Isle of Man.'

The work of the British-Irish Council brings Members together to address issues of mutual interest. These include: misuse of drugs (led by Ireland), the environment (led by the United Kingdom), transport (led by Northern Ireland), social inclusion (led by Scotland and Wales), indigenous, minority and lesser used languages (led by Wales), knowledge economy (led by Jersey), tourism (led by Guernsey) and telemedicine (led by the Isle of Man).

Recommended