44th plenary, Dublin, May 2012

The 44th plenary of the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly was held in the Seanad Chamber, Leinster House (Irish Parliament), Dublin, 14-15 May 2012.

This was the first occasion on which Seanad Eireann, the upper house of the Irish parliament, had been the venue for a plenary of the Assembly.

An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD, addresssed the Assembly on Monday afternoon at 4.15pm on the theme of the plenary “Making business easier between Britain and Ireland.”

Other speakers at the 44th plenary included:

• Darina Allen of Ballymaloe Cookery School
• Minister for Health, James Reilly TD
• Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar TD

There was also an innovative panel discussion with representatives from the private sector including:

• Sean O’Driscoll, CEO Glen Dimplex
• Eoin Tonge, Greencore
• Sally Storey, Vice President and General Manager GlaxoSmithKline (Ireland) Ltd

 An account of the speeches and contributions at the 44th plenary is available here.

President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, with BIPA Co-Chairs, Joe McHugh TD and Laurence Robertson MP, at a reception in Aras an Uchtarain to mark the 44th plenary

An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD, addresses the 44th plenary in the Seanad Chamber, Leinster House

Sean O'Driscoll of Glen Dimplex (standing) with Eoin Tonge of Greencore and Sally Storey of GSK Ireland Ltd, address delegates during the panel discussion on "Making business easier between Britain and Ireland"

Darina Allen of Ballymaloe Cookery School, with BIPA Co-Chairs Joe McHugh TD and Laurence Robertson MP, after her address to the 44th plenary in Leinster House

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar TD, addresses the 44th plenary in the Seanad Chamber, Leinster House, Dublin