The devolution of power to the new Northern Ireland Assembly and the other institutions established under the Belfast Agreement will make an almost immediate impact on the administration of power on both sides of the Border.
The end of 25 years of rule from Westminster will restore responsibility and control over policy formation and budgetary choice to the North's politicians. However, the new cross-Border institutions will also alter the manner in which certain administrative functions operate in the Republic.
This new cross-Border dimension to policy formation will be evident in almost all areas of governmental activity. The agreement outlines 12 areas for North-South co-operation. It also provides for "further development" with the agreement of the North-South Ministerial Council and the endorsement of the Assembly and Oireachtas.
However, in the early stages politicians and civil servants from North and South will closely interact under the six new implementation bodies, which were given legal status this week.
These bodies will deal with trade and business development; inland waterways; aquaculture and marine matters; special EU programmes; food safety and language (Irish and Ulster Scots).
According to the agreement, these bodies will implement policies "on an all-island and cross-Border basis policies agreed" by the North-South Ministerial Council.
Alongside these bodies there will be six areas for co-operation through existing bodies on both sides of the Border. These areas are agriculture; tourism; transport; education; environment and health.
Each implementation body will have a chief executive officer. Dublin will determine the chairs of the inland waterways, food safety and language bodies. The heads of the trade and business development; aquaculture and marine matters and special EU programmes will be decided in Stormont.
Decisions on the locations for the headquarters of the various bodies will be taken at the first meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council in Armagh on Monday week. The months ahead will not only bring new experiences for the politicians, but also civil servants who will be meeting on a range of topics well beyond the narrow political/constitutional confines of the Anglo-Irish Secretariat level.
The two DUP ministers, Peter Robinson of Regional Development, and Nigel Dodds of Social Development, will operate like "independent republics" within the Executive and in their dealing with the cross-Border institutions.
While the DUP minister will deal with Dublin on areas of mutual interest, they will boycott the work of the implementation bodies. Neither Mr Robinson nor Mr Dodds has direct responsibility for any of the six bodies although they both have areas of responsibility where cross-Border co-operation could be developed.
Of the six Executive members from the unionist tradition, Mr Michael McGimpsey will probably have the most significant role in making a success of the implementation bodies. As Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure, Mr McGimpsey, of the UUP, will oversee two of the bodies - language and inland waterways. His counterpart in Dublin for both bodies will be Sile de Valera.
The North-South language body will be known in Irish as An Foras Teanga and in Ulster-Scots as The Board o Laid. Although under one umbrella body and chairman, both languages will have separate administrative headquarters.
The implementation body for inland waterways, to be known as Waterways Ireland, will have responsibility for marketing and developing the tourism and commercial potential of the Shannon Erne Waterway.
From April 1st it will assume control of all of the navigable waterways on the island. It will also be asked to examine the potential of restoring the Ulster Canal.
The aquaculture and marine body will be known as the Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission. The development of common policies in this area will be undertaken by Brid Rodgers of the SDLP and the Minister for the Marine, Dr Woods.
Trade and business development is likely to emerge as one of the more influential bodies devising new approaches to increase enterprise competitiveness in areas such as telecommunications, information technology and electronic commerce. Reg Empey of the UUP and the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, will be responsible for this body.
The Special EU Programmes body will bring together the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, and his Northern counterpart Mark Durkan, of the SDLP. This body will be responsible for the administration of various EU programmes which have cross-Border elements.
Each Northern minister has under their remit a statutory committee which will fulfil a watchdog-type role. These committees will liaise with and monitor the work of the respective departmental ministers in relation to the implementation bodies and the areas for cross-Border co-operation.
Intriguingly, Bairbre de Brun will be shadowed by a statutory committee headed up by the DUP leader, Dr Ian Paisley. The progress of Reg Empey in his dealing with Mary Harney will be watched by a committee led by Pat Doherty of Sinn Fein.
