Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Chancellor Merkel and I were in full agreement that whenever Article 50 is invoked and formal negotiations on the UK’s withdrawal commence, it will fall to EU Heads of State or Government, as members of the European Council, to set strategic direction and make the key decisions. Ireland will be one of the 27 remaining member states involved in these discussions and, as the State most directly affected by the UK's withdrawal, we will play a central role in them, beginning with the framing of the negotiating mandate. As I explained to the Chancellor, this is a case of ensuring that Ireland's specific concerns are addressed in the agreement that is ultimately reached between the UK and the EU. These concerns, above all the preservation of peace and stability in Northern Ireland, are not only in the interests of Ireland and the UK but of the EU as a whole, a point which Chancellor Merkel clearly recognised.

See this speech in context