Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Absolutely. I thank Deputy Haughey for raising these issues. I will address the first question on the Taoiseach's optimism. It is important that we are optimistic. Obviously I cannot base his words on any specific progress that has been made since the last set of dialogues because it is only starting today. It probably takes into account the fact that in the last set of negotiations we saw a significant amount of progress and movement, especially from Prime Minister Theresa May's Florence speech, talking about a transition period, which had not been discussed in a previous phase, and talking about ensuring that no member state is left out of pocket, which also had not been made clear in previous rounds. There was movement in particular around Ireland and the very clear and firm commitment that there would be no border on the island of Ireland, which had not been made clear previous to that. To see that progress has been made in all three areas we need to be optimistic that we can make further progress on those issues between now and Christmas. Time is ticking on and we should not allow this to go on for any longer than it needs to. At the same time I believe there is willingness from both sides. I have been to London, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Coveney has been to the UK. I get a sense that there is a willingness there to work with Michel Barnier and the task force to progress to stage 2 of the negotiations. This shows the EU 27's willingness to move to phase 2, and by beginning our own discussions on the transition period it sends a very clear message to the UK that we want to move on to phase 2, but not at any cost. The Taoiseach is optimistic, as am I, that we can reach the significant progress by December but it has to be based on very clear actions and movement following on from today.

I shall now turn to the General Affairs Council and the European agencies. We are still in negotiations and discussions with all the member states. We feel that we have two very credible bids and that we have two industries that would very much be able to support the European Banking Agency and the European Medicines Agency. Ireland has the proximity to London and the advantage of being the only English speaking country left in the EU. We have very clear access and routes via our ports and airports through Dublin and in to surrounding areas. We continue to engage with the EU member states in this respect and the Ministers in Health and Finance are engaging in the process as are all the other Members who are working abroad at the moment. In less than two weeks time Ireland will have more of an idea about where it stands in both bids.

Catalonia was not raised at the European Council meeting. It was also not raised at the General Affairs Council meeting. I believe, however, that there is a very clear consensus from the majority of member states that Ireland is in unity with Spain on this issue. We need to ensure there is no threat to the rule of law here. As a Government, the Taoiseach has made it very clear that we do not accept or recognise the Catalan unilateral declaration of independence. We do not, of course, agree with or condone any violence. Any scenes that were seen around the time of the referendum cannot be, and should not be, condoned. We would, however, agree that there needs to be a dialogue and further discussion around this issue. It is not something that we, as Government, will interfere in.