Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 February 2017
344. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the discussions he has had with the Scottish Government since the UK Supreme Court judgment on the role of the Scottish Assembly in the invoking of Article 50 to facilitate the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU. [4576/17]
View answerAs part of normal ongoing contacts with the British government and with devolved administrations in the UK, I and my officials speak on a regular basis with the Scottish government and its representatives. We also meet through the means of the British Irish Council, where the UK’s exit from the European Union is discussed at its summit meetings and where the Scottish government is a member administration. My most recent discussions with the Scottish government took place around the time of the publication of their policy paper “Scotland’s Place in Europe” in December, when I spoke with the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, Ms. Fiona Hyslop MSP. A short period prior to that, I met with the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, at Iveagh House during her visit to Dublin. Day-to-day contacts with the Scottish government are carried out by our diplomatic representatives at the Consulate General of Ireland in Edinburgh, while the Scottish government is represented at its Innovation and Investment Hub based in the British Embassy in Dublin. Such contacts of course include discussions of the UK exit from the EU, including in recent weeks. They also include the normal work of building further trade, cultural and economic links between Ireland and Scotland.
Regarding the legal arrangements for the UK as a whole to formally proceed with Article 50 notification to the European Union, I would consider that issue to be an internal matter for the UK and its devolved administrations.
