Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 10, inclusive, together.

Diary constraints, including my visit to the Vatican and a meeting with Prime Minister Muscat of Malta as part of his pre-EU Presidency tour of capitals, meant that it was not possible for me to meet First Minister Sturgeon during her recent trip to Dublin. In recognition of these constraints, I arranged instead a bilateral meeting with the First Minister in Cardiff on 25 November, as we were both due to attend a summit of the British-Irish Council there.

The meeting was a useful opportunity to discuss the growing bilateral relations between Scotland and Ireland and our perspectives on the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union. We agreed that, whatever the outcome of the Brexit negotiations, we both wanted to maintain and develop bilateral relations between our two countries. While the First Minister was clear that she was contemplating options to keep Scotland in the Single Market, we did not discuss the prospect of Scottish independence.

While in Dublin, First Minister Sturgeon met my colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Charles Flanagan, to continue those discussions.

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