Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 to 12, inclusive, together.

I had a very fruitful meeting with Prime Minister Szydło in Warsaw on Thursday, 9 February, which covered a range of European, global and bilateral issues, with Brexit top of the agenda.

I outlined to the Prime Minister Ireland’s concerns about the impact of Brexit on our economy, Northern Ireland, the common travel area and the future of the EU.

Poland shares many of our concerns on Brexit. The UK is its second largest export market after Germany. We agreed that the EU 27 should speak strongly with one voice and we share the hope that the future EU-UK relationship will be as close and as positive as possible post-Brexit. The issue of rights of EU citizens, including Poles, living in the UK is a very important one.

We agreed on the need for the reciprocal rights issue to be addressed early in Brexit negotiations while also defending the indivisibility of the four freedoms, that is, free movement of people, goods, capital and services.

Mrs. Szydło and I exchanged views on key issues on the European agenda. In particular we discussed the future of Europe and the preparations for the forthcoming summit meeting in Rome. We agreed that the EU will remain an indispensable source of stability and core democratic values in the world. Our focus should be on delivering concrete results of importance to the lives of our citizens, including jobs, growth, and investment. We discussed the importance of completing the Single Market and the digital single market, of which both countries are strong advocates, and which bring huge benefits in terms of jobs and growth to our citizens. We also discussed the external challenges facing the EU in a changed global landscape, in particular Russia-EU relations and the escalating conflict in Ukraine. We agreed on the need to maintain sanctions against Russia until the Minsk agreements are fully implemented.

We discussed the excellent bilateral relations between our countries. Since Poland joined the EU in 2004, ties between our two countries have grown very strong, thanks to the Polish community of approximately 150,000 people living in Ireland and the resulting deep personal, cultural, and economic ties that connect us. Trade between our two countries is growing at a rate of over 15% a year. I thanked the Prime Minister for the very positive contribution of Polish people living here to Irish society.

Prime Minister Szydło raised the teaching of Polish in Irish schools and the good work under way by the Minister, Deputy Bruton, in this regard. The forthcoming foreign languages in education strategy from the Department of Education and Skills will contain a number of projects to support children who speak Polish in the home. We agreed that our Ministers with responsibility for education would engage on this matter, and I invited the Prime Minister to send her Minister for Education to Ireland to discuss it with the Minister, Deputy Bruton.

I invited PM Szydło to visit Ireland next year and she accepted my invitation.

During my visit to Warsaw I had the opportunity to observe the great work under way by our agencies, Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia, and by our embassy in supporting trade and promoting Ireland. I officially opened the new Polish office of Bord Bia, which will serve the central and eastern European market and which demonstrates ongoing efforts to diversify Irish food exports, especially in the context of Brexit. I spoke at the Irish-Polish Innovation Forum organised by Enterprise Ireland, at which it was clear that there is excellent collaboration between Irish and Polish start-ups. Finally, I had the opportunity to meet with business people and the Irish community at an embassy event.

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