Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is a European competence and is not one of the issues that will be discussed in the first part of the negotiations. The first part of the negotiations relates to the divorce, as some describe it - how much Britain will have to pay, the issue of citizens' rights and the issue of the Border in Northern Ireland and Irish issues in particular. It has been indicated by the negotiating team and the task force that if sufficient progress is made on those issues, we may be able to begin talks on the new trading relationship that will exist between the United Kingdom and the EU.

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