Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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8. To ask the Taoiseach the specific Brexit-related meetings which he will be attending in Dublin, London and other European capitals before Christmas 2016. [35216/16]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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9. To ask the Taoiseach his plans to engage in bilateral meetings with EU leaders to discuss the impact of Brexit here. [36042/16]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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10. To ask the Taoiseach the foreign leaders he is planning to meet between now and Christmas 2016. [36049/16]

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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11. To ask the Taoiseach the foreign leaders he plans to meet over the next period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36054/16]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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12. To ask the Taoiseach if his Department has hired, or anticipates hiring, additional staff attached to the international, European Union and Northern division in view of the upcoming Brexit negotiations. [36337/16]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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13. To ask the Taoiseach the number of meetings of the Cabinet committee on Brexit which have been held since 8 September 2016 when it first met. [36338/16]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions No. 8 to 13, inclusive, together.

I will be meeting the Maltese Prime Minister shortly, primarily to discuss Malta's upcoming EU Presidency. Brexit will undoubtedly be a significant element of those discussions. I will attend the next meeting of the European Council on 15 December and 16 December. While I do not have any formal bilateral meetings scheduled in the margins of that meeting, I expect there will be a discussion among the 27 remaining member states on that occasion. I will also take the opportunity to discuss the situation informally with colleagues. I do not have other firm plans to meet foreign leaders before Christmas 2016.

An assistant secretary has recently been assigned to the international, EU and Northern Ireland division of my Department. It has responsibility for Brexit matters and the resources of the division are being kept under review. The Cabinet committee on Brexit has met three times to date, on 8 September, on 19 October and on 7 November, for in-depth discussion of the issues arising from the UK decision to leave the European Union. The Cabinet committee is scheduled to meet again on 24 November.

The committee will oversee the overall Government response, including both the economic impact and the negotiations at EU level, and with the Administrations in London and Belfast. The Cabinet committee will continue to meet on a regular basis to deal with Brexit-related issues. Brexit has also been a matter of regular and detailed consideration by the Government at Cabinet level for some time, both in advance of the UK EU referendum and since.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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It is clear the British Government does not appear to have a real overall plan for Brexit, a point acknowledged by the Taoiseach. From all the reports coming out of Westminster, the British Government is struggling to manage the scale of work generated by the Brexit process. There is also a huge amount of work to be undertaken by the Irish Government.

This includes engaging with other EU governments and the Executive and people in the North on the dialogue that is required. Very specifically, does the Government anticipate putting together a strategy and hiring additional staff to deal with these responsibilities? There is a very important element to this. Does the Government accept that the priority has to be actively promoting and defending the rights of those citizens in the North who voted to remain? This cannot just be set to one side. I acknowledge there are diplomatic issues. The North remains part of the British State but our responsibility is to the people of our own island . As I have said many times, we need to have an all-island vision and view

Why do I raise this? I raise it to ask what the arrangement is for based on the Government's outreach initiatives and any diplomatic offensives. Is it to be specific to the Twenty-six Counties? Alternatively, is the objective to obtain some special status for the North outside the European Union? That is a totally different animal than looking for specific, designated special status for the North inside the European Union. Has the Government examined other models that have accommodated this kind of thinking? All of us have said Brexit is the greatest challenge facing the island of Ireland for many decades.

Let me come back to the point that the people of the North voted to remain. That is their position and it should be ours, notwithstanding the diplomatic niceties in this regard.

We will give the Government a paper. I have just signed off on a paper. Our national officer board dealt with it. It outlines some strategic objectives regarding where we engage on this issue. It also points a way towards getting special designated status for the North within the European Union. I will send the document in due course to Teachtaí Dála and Seanadóirí.

That is the import of my question. As we face this big challenge, do we have the proper resources? Has the Government clearly made up its mind on whether we are seeking special status outside or inside the Union as part of our all-island vision?

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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My question is about the talks with foreign leaders. I was very surprised to read the Taoiseach's tweet at the weekend in which he said he had a really great conversation on the night in question with US Vice President-elect Mike Pence. He stated Mr. Pence certainly knows Ireland and the issues that matter to our people. To be honest, that is a pretty shocking statement. Does the Taoiseach know what Mr. Mike Pence thinks of LGBT people? Has he any idea? He knows what the Irish people think about LGBT rights. They believe in those rights and in equality.

Let me give the Taoiseach a flavour of what Mr. Mike Pence said:

Homosexuals are not as a group able bodied. They are known to carry extremely high rates of disease brought on because of the nature of their sexual practices and the promiscuity which is a hallmark of their lifestyle.

That is disgusting bigotry. He said gay journalists cannot remain unbiased because of the pathological nature of their "gaydom". This is unbelievable stuff. In 2006, he supported a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex weddings and suggested that if same-sex weddings were allowed, societal collapse would occur. In 2013, as Governor of Indiana, he signed a Bill that would jail same-sex couples who applied for a marriage license. The Bill also suggested that clerks or clergy who supplied a licence or performed a wedding for LGBT couples should be jailed. I have not got time to list the remaining instances of disgusting bigotry on the part of this man. I would like to know what the Taoiseach thinks we have in common with an outright bigot and anti-gay, anti-lesbian and anti-trans person such as Mr. Mike Pence. It seems we have nothing in common with him and that he knows nothing about the values of people in this country.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I ask Deputy Bríd Smith to be brief because the Taoiseach deserves an opportunity to respond.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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My question is about Ibrahim Halawa. Deputy Gerry Adams already referred to this. By now, all things being equal in a Dáil that functions as a democracy, we should have had a cross-party delegation visiting Cairo, of which the Taoiseach would probably have been part. We passed a motion in July to have a cross-party delegation to visit Cairo and to have the Egyptian ambassador to Ireland, Mr. Gendi, visit our Parliament to talk to the foreign affairs committee.

I am delighted to see the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Charles Flanagan, present because I believe he owes me 50 bucks. The last time I spoke on the floor here, Ibrahim Halawa was facing his 16th trial. That has now been postponed. He will face his 17th trial on 13 December unless we intervene. Intervention means direct intervention from the Taoiseach, not just support for the Rule 140 position, as indicated to Deputy Gerry Adams. What he needs to do is apply in his own name for Rule 140 to apply to Ibrahim Halawa. There is a window of opportunity over the next two days. The Egyptian Government has set up a special commission to which the Taoiseach can apply to have Ibrahim Halawa released on the basis that he is a young person who has not been convicted. He has been in Egyptian prisons for over three years and this is affecting his university education. That is the basis on which the Taoiseach can apply for his release. He has got two days to do so. The expiry date is 25 November. I plead with the Taoiseach, on behalf of the Halawa family, to make the application and see Mr. Halawa released shortly. As Deputy Adams stated, hundreds of prisoners have been released. In the past few days, over 80 have been released. The Egyptian Government has set up a commission and is inviting the Irish Government to call for the release of prisoners on the basis that they are young and that their continuing internment without trial would affect their university education. Can the Taoiseach please submit the application in his own name?

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Could we let the Taoiseach respond?

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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If el-Sisi's government sees an application that does not state "the Irish Government" but something else, it will not be taken as seriously as it should be. My question is a direct one. It requires only a "Yes" or "No" answer but I hope the answer is "Yes".

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I advise the House that I received yesterday an invitation from the Speaker of the Egyptian Parliament requesting a visit by a delegation from these Houses.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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We will support an all-party delegation if it wishes to travel to Cairo to discuss this matter. The Government backs the Rule 140 arrangement; it is not just an individual. I am privileged to lead the Government and I support that very strongly and will continue to do so. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Charles Flanagan, has had more extensive discussions about the release of Ibrahim Halawa than about any other Irish national. He will continue to do so until we secure Ibrahim's release.

In the past two days, I wrote again to the Egyptian President and we will pursue this matter further through the ambassadors.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Will the Taoiseach apply to the commission for Mr. Halawa's release before 25 November?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett should note that I did not speak about the personal views of the US Vice President-elect. I spoke to him about his position as the elected Vice President and I spoke to him about Ireland and our relationship with the United States. In that context, I mentioned the undocumented Irish and the scale of the employment of US citizens by Irish companies. I explained and spoke to him about the traditional relationships we have had with the United States over many years. Vice President-elect Pence fully understands the issues of Ireland, its economy, its people, our traditions and our values. That has nothing to do with his personal opinions. I said before in this House that the decision that has been made here was made by the US electorate, the people of the United States. They have elected Mr. Donald Trump to be the President and Mr. Mike Pence to be the Vice President.

We will work with that government, as all other governments will do. We do not have to dismiss or diminish in any way our own values or what we stand for in working politically with a government.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The Government has to speak out against the use of that kind of language.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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In respect of Northern Ireland, we have discussed the issue with Deputy Gerry Adams before. People in Northern Ireland did vote to remain. We have a peace process, a land border, PEACE and INTERREG funds. There are very particular circumstances. Following the meeting during the course of the week in Armagh, we will work with the Executive, the First Minister and the deputy First Minister to secure the best deal for the people of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.