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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 10, inclusive, together.

I visited Northern Ireland on Thursday and Friday, 7 and 8 June. I had a number of different engagements during my recent visit to Northern Ireland. This was part of my own and the Government's continuing commitment to stay engaged with all parts of society in Northern Ireland, notwithstanding the absence of functioning political institutions there.

On Thursday, 7 June, I met a group called Civic Space, which is made up of civic unionism and others in Belfast. The meeting was a good opportunity for me to hear from a range of perspectives on major issues such as the political situation in Northern Ireland and Brexit.

On 8 June, my first engagement was a private meeting with Baroness Eileen Paisley at the Bannside Library, which houses the personal collection of Dr. Ian Paisley, Lord Bannside. That morning, I had another private meeting with Mr. Peadar Heffron and his wife, Fiona. Mr. Heffron was a Catholic PSNI officer who was seriously injured in an attack by dissident republicans in 2010. I also visited the Museum of Orange Heritage, where I was welcomed by the Orange Order Grand Master, Mr. Edward Stevenson, and met Orange Order representatives from across the island, including from Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan and Leitrim. I received a warm welcome from the Orange Order in Schomberg House and also from local residents outside the museum. I hope that my visit will be seen as a stepping stone to building relationships and a greater understanding between the Irish Government and the Orange Order into the future.

I also had a meeting with business and community leaders at Queen's University where I heard their views on the political situation in Northern Ireland and on Brexit. In the afternoon, I spoke at the launch event for the 30th year of Féile an Phobail in St. Mary's University College. Following my speech, I met some local guests and had a brief conversation with the vice president of Sinn Féin, Ms Michelle O'Neill.

On Friday evening, I had a very enjoyable visit to Down's oldest GAA club, Mayobridge. During the visit, I met the club chairperson, committee members and many club members, both young and old, including distinguished former All Ireland winning players, and the Down GAA county chairman, Mr. Sean Rooney. I was given a tour of the club grounds by the club secretary, Mr. Thomas O'Hare, during which I met a number of the club's teams.

The final event in my programme was a meeting with the CEOs of the cross-Border, North-South bodies in Newry, where we discussed the current cross-border issues relevant to their work and the future development and role of those bodies.

I was really glad to have the opportunity during this visit to meet with a range of groups from all sides of the community in Northern Ireland and to hear their concerns on the issues.

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