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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 7, inclusive, together.

On Brexit, I said that greater clarity and confidence regarding how a hard border is to be avoided was needed before we could say sufficient progress had been made to allow negotiations to move to phase 2. As I have said before, protecting the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts and the gains of the peace process is a priority, not just for Ireland but also for all remaining 27 member states. Given that the UK Government has said the UK should leave the Single Market and the customs union, the onus is on it to indicate how the commitment to avoiding a hard border is to be realised within the parameters it has set.

I engaged informally with Prime Minister Rajoy at the European Council in October and at the social summit in Gothenburg on 17 November. I have not yet had a formal bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister, but I look forward to having a chance to have more detailed engagement in the near future.

Ongoing political engagement with our EU and international partners remains crucial, especially as negotiations on Brexit proceed. I will, of course, see many of my EU counterparts in the margins of the EU-Africa summit next week.

I attended my first British-Irish Council summit in Jersey on Friday, 10 November. It was hosted by Chief Minister of Jersey, Senator Ian Gorst. The summit provided a useful opportunity for me to engage with the Heads of the devolved Administrations across these islands. The summit focused on key political developments for all member Administrations, including the current political situation in Northern Ireland and the ongoing implications of Brexit.

I expressed my regret that the Northern Ireland Executive was not represented at political level at the summit meeting. I briefed the council on our efforts in supporting and facilitating talks between the parties over many months and reaffirmed our commitment to continuing to work with the British Government and the parties to support the resumption of power-sharing in Northern Ireland as soon as possible.

We discussed the common travel area, border and customs arrangements, and the transition to a post-Brexit environment for all member Administrations. The discussions looked ahead to the next European Council meeting, in December. It will determine whether the Brexit discussions can progress to the next phase.

We touched briefly on the recent press coverage of the Paradise Papers.

There was also a discussion on the creative industries, at which the Irish Government was represented by the Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh. The results of a data-sharing and measurement report produced by the British-Irish Council Creative Industries work sector indicates that this is an area that contributes approximately £98.8 billion per year to the economies of the eight Administrations.

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