This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/7846175.stm

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Leaders gather for council talks McGuinness defends border trade
(about 2 hours later)
The North-South Ministerial Council is meeting at Magee College in Londonderry. Martin McGuinness has launched a strong attack on politicians from the Republic who alleged people travelling north to shop were being "unpatriotic".
It is the first gathering of the body since Peter Robinson became Northern Ireland's first minister and Brian Cowen took charge in the Republic. The Deputy First Minister made the remarks as he arrived for a meeting of the North South Ministerial Council in Londonderry on Friday.
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness is co-chairing the talks. "I think it is very patriotic for anybody born on the island of Ireland to shop on the island of Ireland," he said.
The NI Agriculture Minister is expected to press for a share of the EU 180m euro dioxin compensation package for pork and beef farmers. The meeting was at Magee College.
The economic downturn is also one of the issues to be discussed at Friday's meeting. Mr McGuinness said there were a number of "tremendous evils in our society, one is racism, the other is sectarianism and I think an evil also is partitionism".
Sinn Féin Foyle assembly member Martina Anderson said the meeting was "an opportunity to highlight the entire north-west region in terms of what is needed to promote and develop the area". "What we need to recognise is that there is a free will of the people," he added.
The North-South Ministerial Council was set up as part of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement to increase cross-border co-operation on issues of mutual interest.The North-South Ministerial Council was set up as part of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement to increase cross-border co-operation on issues of mutual interest.
On Friday, Mr McGuinness welcomed the appointment of former Good Friday talks chairman George Mitchell as President Obama's new Middle East envoy.