The Taoiseach, Tánaiste and all Ministers continue to meet and engage with our EU counterparts to emphasise Ireland’s concerns in relation to Brexit and to ensure that these concerns are fully reflected in the EU position once negotiations commence. This activity is reinforced by extensive engagement at diplomatic and official level.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Government has adopted a contingency framework to deal with all issues arising in respect of the UK vote to leave the EU. Accordingly any issues arising whether bilateral or regarding our wider international multilateral engagements will be also addressed within that framework.
While Brexit does not give rise to fundamental strategic issues for Defence Forces operations or for Ireland’s continuing engagement within the EU in the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), it is expected that Brexit will have an impact on future developments in the Defence sphere.
As the Deputy will appreciate, the formal and informal meetings of Ministers at EU level provide a significant opportunity to engage bilaterally with Ministers from other member States on issues of concern to Ireland, both within the scope of the Ministerial but also more broadly. When attending European Council meetings , I avail of the opportunity to engage in informal bilateral discussions with my EU counterparts en-marge of the meetings which is an important aspect of Ministerial attendance and have raised the issue of Brexit and Ireland’s key considerations as and when the opportunity arises.
In terms of formal bilateral meetings, I have met with Rt Hon Sir Michael Fallon, MP Secretary of State at the UK Ministry of Defence and the Maltese Minister for Home Affairs and National Security, Mr Carmelo Abela as set out in the following table. Our discussions covered a wide range of topics mainly in the security and defence domain but also focused on Brexit and the implications for Ireland and the EU.
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Date
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Location
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Minister
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08 09/07/2016
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Warsaw, Poland
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Rt Hon Sir Michael Fallon MP Secretary of State, UK Ministry of Defence
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18 18/01/2017
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Dublin
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Maltese Minister for Home Affairs and National Security Mr Carmelo Abela
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