Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To deal with the final issue first, it was not a joint statement because, as the Deputy is aware, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland issued her statement at her party conference. It would not have been appropriate for me to issue a statement at a Conservative Party conference. I issued a statement from New York at precisely the same time. We had been engaged in the process during the previous days. I was conscious of the fact the announcement would be made at a forum at which my attendance could not have been facilitated. If the Deputy checks the record, he will see the statements were made contemporaneously.

As soon as I took office as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, I immediately engaged with all key stakeholders in Northern Ireland. In recent months I have regularly met and spoken with party leaders to exchange views on developments as they occur. This evening, I will have a meeting with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and we will work out the detailed agenda, the particulars of which I am not yet in a position to provide to the House. With regard to the timeframe, it is expected the talks will take place over the next two weeks or more. I am cautious of putting a definite timeframe on them but I will be disappointed if the talks are not under way within a period of two weeks. I expect they will intensify. With goodwill on the part of everybody involved, I hope that by the year end we will be in a position to report progress.

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