The two governments have spent nearly £1.4 million on the multi-party peace talks in Northern Ireland, it was disclosed last night.
In a House of Commons written reply, the Northern Ireland Minister of State, Mr Paul Murphy, said the Irish Government was bearing an equal share of running costs of the negotiations, except those relating to "Strand One", which involves internal discussions in Northern Ireland.
Between June 10th, 1996, and last November 30th, the governments paid £1,359,701.52 towards the cost of talks at Castle Buildings in Belfast.