The effects of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the US and their economic repercussions for the whole of Ireland was discussed at the third plenary meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) at Dublin Castle yesterday.
The Council agreed the atrocities posed "significant challenges" for the economies of both jurisdictions.
The meeting which was chaired by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, also discussed emergency planning in light of the attacks and it was agreed there was a need for cross Border co-operation on planning for major incidents. Information was exchanged on the capabilities of emergency services north and south.
The discussions, covered "normal but important issues", Mr Ahern said.
The talks focused on "tangible issues of mutual benefit for both parts of the island", he stressed.
Delegates, who included members of Cabinet and Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive, led by its First Minister Mr David Trimble, also considered proposals to reduce the impact on tourism, North and South, of the September 11th attacks.
Mr Trimble described the meeting as "very normal" and said a lot of routine business was conducted.
This business included discussion of a study, due to be published shortly, on obstacles to cross-border mobility on the island of Ireland. It was agreed "care should be taken to avoid creating unjustified advantage for cross-border workers beyond that available in the respective jurisdictions," according to a joint statement issued following the meeting.
The effectiveness of cross-Border co-operation during the recent foot-and-mouth crisis was also evaluated. In addition, co-operation on infrastructural issues such as the agreement on cross-border gas pipelines was discussed.
A report on ways of enhancing competitiveness in the two economies was presented and there was a "useful exchange" on it.
The Council also reviewed its progress since it was established under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement in December 1999 and set out a work programme for the year ahead. Furthermore, it noted the council's annual report for 2000 which is about to be published, and estimated the budget it required for 2002 to be in the region of £54 million sterling (€92 million).
Progress was also made on the possible establishment of an independent North/South consultative forum.
"More work needs to be done on this issue. We have agreed to discuss it further in institutional format," Mr Ahern said.
The Deputy First Minister, Mr Mark Durkan, described the meeting as "very productive and very useful . . . it was very worthwhile, it may have been a long time coming for obvious political reasons but the time was well used when it did come and that will influence future good work not just at plenary level in the NSMC but in the various sectorial formats as well," he said.
"The discussion today was very useful. People weren't just going through the motions. There were issues and ideas talked about today that gave people good work to do and good ideas to follow up," he added.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, said the fact that they were co-operating on normal issues spoke volumes. They agreed to meet again in plenary format in Northern Ireland on May 1st next year.