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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 5, inclusive, together.

On 31 August last, I held a formal meeting under the structured dialogue process with representatives of the Catholic Church, led by Archbishop Eamon Martin. I was accompanied at the meeting by the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation and by the Ministers for Education and Skills; Health; Transport, Tourism and Sport; and Employment Affairs and Social Protection.

A wide-ranging discussion took place on a range of important national and international issues including the World Meeting of Families in August 2018 and the possibility of a visit to Ireland by the Pope, education issues, the eighth amendment of the Constitution, Northern Ireland, overseas development aid and social justice issues.

I also recently received a courtesy call from the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, as is traditional around the Christmas and new year period.

Yesterday, I met representatives of the main Protestant churches, the Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Methodist congregations. I was accompanied by the Ministers for Justice and Equality; Business, Enterprise and Innovation; Education and Skills; Health; and Transport, Tourism and Sport; and the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with special responsibility for international development.

This was the second in a series of meetings I will hold with dialogue partners. We discussed important social and economic issues facing Irish society including Brexit, education, the eighth amendment to the Constitution and international development.

Church and faith communities play an important role in Irish life, and it is very beneficial that Government should engage with them in a structured way. Some of the issues we discussed at these meetings were very challenging. They are issues on which people have deeply held views and which are matters of conscience. Our discussions were valuable not just because they dealt with important issues, but particularly because they were conducted in an atmosphere of respect for the views of others in which everyone sought to be constructive.

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