Ministerial Meetings

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 January 2017

Thursday, 19 January 2017

Questions (96)

Niall Collins

Question:

96. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Finance the bilateral meetings he has had with his European counterparts, outside of Council of Europe meetings, since the UK referendum to leave the EU took place, in which the issue of Brexit and the unique challenges faced by the island of Ireland was discussed, including the name of each European Government ministerial counterpart, the meeting location and the date of each meeting, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2518/17]

Written answers

Minister for Finance

Since the UK referendum outcome, I have met with my EU counterparts at the monthly Ecofin and Eurogroup meetings, most recently at the December meetings which took place on 5-6 December last.

In addition, in relation to specific individual meetings where Brexit has been discussed, the following have taken place:

Bilateral Meetings	Location	Date
Philip Hammond, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer	London, UK	22 September 2016
Peter Kažimír, Slovak Minister for Finance	Bratislava, Slovak Republic	28 October 2016
Edward Scicluna, Maltese Minister for Finance	Brussels, Belgium	7 November 2016
Philip Hammond, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer	Dublin, Ireland	9 January 2017

The meetings with Chancellor Hammond have provided the opportunity to engage constructively on the strong relationship between our countries, the importance of trade between the two economies, and on the many areas of common interest shared by Ireland and the UK. I have reiterated to the Chancellor that the Irish Government's headline priorities concerning Brexit remain the economy, Northern Ireland, the Common Travel Area and the future of the EU itself. Chancellor Hammond is aware that Ireland remains a committed EU Member State and will be part of the EU 27 team during the forthcoming negotiations. We want negotiations to be constructive and believe that a close and positive future relationship between the UK and the EU post-departure is of benefit to all.

While Brexit issues were not central to the discussions which took place with Ministers Kažimír and Scicluna, where EU Presidency issues were the main topics, I have taken the opportunity, in exchanges with EU partners, to underline Ireland's unique relationship with the UK. As the Deputy will be aware, the key issues for Ireland, associated with the referendum outcome, including our close economic relationship with the UK, have been articulated on numerous occasions by me and other members of the Government.

The Government and I will continue to meet and engage with our EU counterparts over coming weeks to emphasise Ireland's concerns and to ensure that they are fully reflected in the EU position once negotiations commence.