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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 to 20, inclusive, together.

I travelled to Belfast on Friday, 8 February for a series of meetings with each of the five main political parties in Northern Ireland. I met with the DUP leader, Ms Arlene Foster, the vice president of Sinn Féin, Ms Michelle O'Neill, the UUP leader, Mr. Robin Swann, the Alliance Party leader, Ms Naomi Long, and Mr. Colum Eastwood, leader of the SDLP. I had the opportunity, the night before, to engage with the convenor of the Green Party of Northern Ireland.

The meetings provided an opportunity to engage with the Northern Ireland political parties and to hear their views on the latest Brexit developments and the current political situation in the North. We discussed what could be done to get the institutions in Northern Ireland functioning again, and I once again emphasised our commitment to all aspects of the Good Friday Agreement and our continuing determination to secure the effective operation of all its institutions.

The Government wants to see an agreement in place to secure the operation of the devolved institutions, and will continue to engage with the British Government and the political parties in Northern Ireland to seek urgent progress in that area in the period immediately ahead.

On Brexit, I outlined to each of the Northern Ireland parties the Government's position, shared by the European Union, that the withdrawal agreement is not open for renegotiation, and represents the best way to secure an orderly Brexit while avoiding a return to a hard border.

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