asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his meeting with the British Prime Minister at the Hanover Summit.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Hanover Summit.
4.
I will be reporting on the EC Summit in Hanover and on my meeting with the British Prime Minister during the course of my speech tomorrow morning on the Estimate for my Department.
Would the Taoiseach say whether he came to any arrangement with the British Prime Minister to have a bilaternal summit meeting with her before November in view of the fact that such a meeting has not yet taken place during the lifetime of the present Government?
No. On a number of occasions I have explained that the idea of having such a separate meeting is always kept on the table, but so far, either through the Anglo-Irish Agreement Conference or through the meetings which take place in the margins of the European Council, we have been able to deal with most issues which are of mutual interest.
The Taoiseach will agree it was relatively common practice for the leaders of previous Governments to have such meetings at fairly regular intervals. In view of the difficulties that exist in Anglo-Irish relations in various areas, would he not think it advisable to have such a meeting now?
I have just finished a meeting which lasted one and a quarter hours. If it appears any further meeting of the kind I have had, or any other kind, would be necessary or beneficial, I would not hesitate to hold such a meeting.
The report of the meeting between the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister emanating from British sources seems to indicate that the meeting was largely concerned with security matters and matters of co-operation on the Border. Was this the case, or were more substantial political matters, matters leading to political development, discussed at the meeting?
I would ask the Deputy to have regard to his experience in these matters and to discount most of the media reporting and speculation which surrounded this meeting, and that surrounds nearly all such meetings. As the Deputy knows, it is not the practice to give any details of what was or was not discussed at these meetings.
The meetings benefit from the fact that they are informal and confidential, I would also like to direct the Deputy's attention to the fact that this meeting lasted over an hour, that a joint communique was issued after the meeting, to which I would direct his attention, and that both myself and the British Prime Minister adhered scrupulously to our decisions as to what we were to say about the meeting.