Question: One of the Countries of the United Kingdom consist of Northern Ireland.  Who Does Northern Ireland co-operate with in some areas?
Context: Since 1998, Northern Ireland has devolved government within the United Kingdom.  The government and Parliament of the United Kingdom are responsible for reserved and excepted matters.  Reserved matters are a list of policy area (such as civil aviation, units of measurement, and human genetics), which the Westminster Parliament may devolve to the Northern Ireland Assembly at some time in future.  Excepted matters (such as international relations, taxation and elections) are never expected to be considered for devolution.  On all other matters, the Northern Ireland Executive together with the 108-member Northern Ireland Assembly may legislate and govern for Northern Ireland.  Additionally, devolution in Northern Ireland is dependent upon participation by members of the Northern Ireland Executive in the North/South Ministerial Council, which co-ordinates areas of co-operation (such as agriculture, education and health) between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. There has not been a government of England since 1707 when the Kingdom of England ceased to exist as a sovereign state, as it merged with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.  Kingdom of Great Britain continued from 1707 until 1801 when it merged with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which itself became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) in 1922 (in reality; in name in 1927) upon independence for most of the island of Ireland.  The UK since then has gone through significant change to its system of government, with devolved parliaments, assemblies and governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.  England, however, remains under the full jurisdiction, on all matters, of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the UK government as no devolved administration has been created for England within the new structure.  This situation has led to the anomaly, known as the West Lothian question, which is that Scottish Members of Parliament (MPs) are able to vote on legislation that affects only England whereas English MPs can not vote on certain Scottish matters due to devolution.  In some cases, such as top-up university tuition fees and foundation hospitals, the votes of Scottish MPs have been crucial in helping pass legislation for England that the majority of English MPs have opposed. Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland (HSC) is the designation of the publicly funded service which provides public health and other social care services in Northern Ireland.  The Northern Ireland Executive through its Department of Health is responsible for its funding, while the Public Health Agency is the executive agency responsible for the provision of health and social care services across Northern Ireland.  It is free of charge to all citizens of Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.  For services such as A&E, patients simply walk in, state their name and date of birth, are given treatment and then leave.  Patients are unaware of costs incurred by them using the service.  It is sometimes called the "NHS", as in England, Scotland and Wales, but differs from the NHS in England and Wales in that it provides not only health care but social care too (the NHS in Scotland also includes social care).  Social services are provided by local councils.  The Health and Social Care service was created by the Parliament of Northern Ireland in 1948 after the Beveridge Report. Northern Ireland (Irish: "Tuaisceart Éireann" ] ; Ulster-Scots: "Norlin Airlann ") is a part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland, variously described as a country, province or region.  Northern Ireland shares a border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland.  In 2011, its population was 1,810,863, constituting about 30% of the island's total population and about 3% of the UK's population.  Established by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 as part of the Good Friday Agreement, the Northern Ireland Assembly holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, while other areas are reserved for the British government.  Northern Ireland co-operates with the Republic of Ireland in some areas, and the Agreement granted the Republic the ability to "put forward views and proposals" with "determined efforts to resolve disagreements between the two governments". Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) rights in Northern Ireland are the least advanced in the United Kingdom and Ireland, lagging behind Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland respectively.  It was the last country in the United Kingdom to legalise same-sex sexual activity, the last to end a lifetime ban on blood donations by men who have sex with men and since 2015 is the only part of western Europe to prohibit same-sex marriage.  Progress on LGBT rights has mostly been achieved during direct rule by the Government of the United Kingdom or through court action rather than local legislative reform, due to the veto power wielded by the anti-LGBT Democratic Unionist Party and its allies under Northern Ireland's power-sharing system.  ILGA rates Northern Ireland as the worst place in the United Kingdom for LGBT people, with 74% equality of rights compared to 86% LGBT equality in the United Kingdom overall and 92% equality in Scotland.  LGBT rights campaigner Peter Tatchell describes Northern Ireland as "the most homophobic place in western Europe". There are a number of alternative names for Northern Ireland.  Northern Ireland consists of six historic counties of Ireland, and remains part of the United Kingdom following the independence of the other twenty-six counties as the Irish Free State in 1922 (now the Republic of Ireland, officially named "Ireland").  In addition to, and sometimes instead of, its official name, several other names are used for the region.  Significant differences in political views between unionists and Irish nationalists are reflected in the variations of names they use for the region.  A proposal to change Northern Ireland's name was seriously considered by the UK and Northern Ireland Governments in 1949 but in the end the name "Northern Ireland" was retained. The United Kingdom (UK) comprises four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Prostitution in Northern Ireland is governed by the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015, which makes it illegal to pay for sex in Northern Ireland.  Prior to the act coming into effect, prostitution in Northern Ireland was regulated by the same or similar laws to those in England and Wales, as it is elsewhere in the United Kingdom.  At that time, prostitution in Northern Ireland was legal subject to a number of restraints which controlled certain activities associated with prostitution, such as soliciting, procuring, living on the proceeds of prostitution (pimping), exploitation of prostitutes, under-age prostitution, and keeping a brothel.  However, devolution provided the opportunity for separate legislation in Northern Ireland. Scouting in Northern Ireland is represented by three Scouting associations.  The Northern Ireland Scout Council is part of The Scout Association of the United Kingdom, which is the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) recognized Scouting association in the United Kingdom.  Scouting Ireland is the national Scouting association and the WOSM-recognized Scouting association for the Republic of Ireland, although its membership extends to Northern Ireland.  The Baden-Powell Scouts' Association is a member of the World Federation of Independent Scouts and operates one group in Northern Ireland. Match of the Day from Northern Ireland is the name given to coverage of football matches involving local teams in Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland national football team, produced and broadcast by BBC Northern Ireland.  It is shown on either BBC One Northern Ireland or BBC Two Northern Ireland depending on the match and availability in the schedule, while some of Northern Ireland's international matches have also been broadcast throughout the United Kingdom via the BBC Red Button interactive channels on Freeview and Sky Digital.
Answer: Republic of Ireland