British-Irish Council meeting in Slieve Donard

18 June 2025

REPRESENTATIVES of the British and Irish governments met at the Slieve Donard in Newcastle on Friday to discuss the latest political developments across the islands.

The 43rd meeting of the British-Irish Council (BIC), which was established to promote mutually beneficial development following the Good Friday Agreement, had a particular focus on the role of artificial intelligence in reform and transformation.

The summit was co-chaired by First Minister Michelle O’Neill MLA and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly MLA, with Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris among the attendees.

Representatives of the Northern Ireland executive and the British government also attended, as well as the governments of Scotland, Wales, Jersey and the Isle of Man.

The Council discussed approaches to harness AI technologies for public sector reform and transformation in the provision of public services across the islands.

The potential benefits, and the associated challenges, of the more widespread and scaled-up use of AI technologies in public administrations were also discussed.

Council members reflected on significant recent political developments within their administrations and discussed a number of domestic and international topics of interest.

Mr Martin said: “Relations across these islands are in a good place and there is always more that can be done to deepen cooperation and unlock potential to the benefit of all.”

Mr Harris said: “This was the first BIC Summit to take place in Northern Ireland since the restoration of the executive and assembly last year.

“The British Irish Council provides a very useful forum to discuss issues of topical concern across these islands.”

He added: “This is vitally important, particularly at a time when we are focused strongly on realising the potential of relationships across these islands.”

The next BIC summit will be hosted by the Welsh Government in late 2025.

Tweets by @TheDownRecorder