The text of the agreement has not yet been published, but is said to include commitments on the continued operation of the Common Travel Area (CTA) and reciprocal access to welfare.

It will be signed by Cabinet Office minister David Lidington and Tanáiste Simon Coveney in London this afternoon before the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference (BIGC).

The BIGC was established under the Good Friday Agreement to “promote bilateral co-operation at all levels on all matters of mutual interest within the competence of both Governments”.