Taoiseach to meet Brown for talks

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will meet British Prime Minister Gordon Brown this weekend.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will meet British Prime Minister Gordon Brown this weekend.

A spokesman for Mr Ahern said the main item on the agenda is expected to be the recent progress in Northern Ireland.

"Two key issues will be the devolution of policing and justice powers to the democratic institutions in Northern Ireland and helping the development of the Northern economy," he said.

It will be their third meeting since Mr Brown took office, having had discussions in Belfast and on the margins of an EU summit in Brussels.

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The weekend meeting will take place two days after a North-South Ministerial meeting in Dundalk on Thursday that will be attended by Mr Ahern and by the North's First Minister, the Rev Ian Paisley, and deputy first minister Martin McGuinnness.

Mr Ahern and Mr Brown will meet while in the Manchester attending the derby game between Manchester United and Manchester City. They will attend the official commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Munich air crash.