Plenary JC English 14 December 2009

• continued progress on the A5 (Aughnacloy to North West Gateway) and A8 (Belfast-Larne) road projects.  Contractor/designers were appointed in early December 2009 for the A5 project.  A  payment of €9m has been made by the Minister for Transport to the Northern Ireland Consolidated fund in accordance with the agreed procedure;
  
• the reopening of the Belfast to Dublin rail line on 16 November and the promotional efforts by the rail companies to recover passenger numbers;
  
• discussion of the options for adopting a coordinated approach to the introduction of new lower blood alcohol limits;
  
• the mutual recognition of driving disqualifications between the UK and Ireland which will become operational in late January 2010;
  
• cooperation on planning and preparedness for dealing with the  H1N1 virus  (swine flu) including the establishment of a well functioning coordination structure;
  
• progress in cooperation on child protection, including the exchange of information on internet safety and social networking sites, research and knowledge transfer and steps towards establishing a joint protocol on children in care, or on the child protection register, that go missing and children moving across the border where there are concerns;
  
• the  commencement of a Service Level Agreement between the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) for Northern Ireland and Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin (OLCHC) to support provision of paediatric congenital cardiac services (PCCS);
  
• agreement of a Framework relating in the first instance to the removal of illegally dumped waste at two priority sites, at Slattinagh, Co Fermanagh and near Trillick, Co Tyrone.  This will form the basis for action on the remaining 18 sites.  Work on these two sites is expected to commence in early 2010;
  
• discussion on the CAP Health Check Agreement and the challenges facing the agriculture sector, in particular in relation to greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and the current situation of the dairy industry; and
  
• the progress in the construction of the new accommodation for the NSMC Joint Secretariat in Armagh and the decision to hold future NSMC meetings there, where practicable.