Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The short answer is that there is a lot going on, involving the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, myself and others. Obviously, we are working with EU counterparts and speaking directly to the Biden administration. I got a chance to speak to one of President Biden's most senior advisers this week and to members of Congress, such as Congressman Brendan Boyle and others, at COP26. However, the main focus is to try to encourage progress in the discussions between Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič and Lord Frost. They are meeting directly again tomorrow. I will meet Vice-President Šefčovič on Tuesday for lunch and, hopefully, will have an opportunity to have direct discussions with Lord Frost as well next week. Listening to what he said yesterday in the House of Lords, there is still some time to try to ensure that negotiations and partnership can work. We will continue to focus on those efforts and do everything we can to dissuade the British Government from triggering Article 16, which I believe would be a very serious, negative and retrograde step.

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