Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My objective at the European Council meeting on 28 June, and the informal meeting of 27 Heads of State or Government the following day, was to present Ireland's views and concerns in relation to the impact and effects of the referendum in the UK, and to ensure, once again, that there is an understanding among EU partners of our particular national position, including as regards Northern Ireland and North-South relations. I am satisfied that is the case.

We work closely with the devolved administrations in the context of the institutions established by the Good Friday Agreement, including the British-Irish Council and the North-South Ministerial Council. In preparing for the European Council meeting, I had a wide range of discussions, including with the Northern Ireland First Minister and Deputy First Minister and with the Scottish First Minister, Ms Sturgeon, whom I had also met at the British-Irish Council in Glasgow on 17 June.

Ireland and Scotland enjoy excellent and close relations, as, indeed, we do with the UK as a whole. The recent visit by President Higgins underlined once more the strength of the ties between the peoples of Scotland and Ireland. The First Minister, Ms Sturgeon, was anxious that European leaders would be aware of her concerns about the future situation and status of Scotland following a UK departure from the Union. I undertook to mention those concerns during the European Council meeting, which I did. This was in the context of a wide-ranging discussion on the referendum outcome and its consequences, on which I reported in detail to the House on the 5 July. I look forward to ongoing contact with the First Minister and her administration at political, diplomatic and official levels. We will have an opportunity to meet again at the extraordinary meeting of the British-Irish Council on Friday of this week in Cardiff.

It is self-evident that the outcome of the referendum on EU membership has generated significant debate in all parts of the United Kingdom and beyond. Many aspects of the next steps in this process require clarification that will only emerge now that the new British Prime Minister, Mrs. Theresa May, has been appointed. In my discussions with Mrs. May last week, we discussed a range of issues of mutual interest, not least the importance of continuing to work together to build on the excellent relationship that now exists between Ireland and Britain, including our joint support of the peace process and the wider development of co-operation between these two islands. We agreed to stay in touch and to meet each other in the coming weeks.

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