Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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We have only a short time left. I call the next question. Deputy Durkan has 30 seconds. I will give the Deputy one minute after that and then I will give one minute to the Minister.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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51. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the timing he expects for the various stages of the Brexit negotiations in view of the Brittish Prime Minister, Ms Theresa May’s speech; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3097/17]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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54. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline the extent to which he continues to have discussions with the United Kingdom authorities and his EU colleagues in the context of the proposed UK exit from the European Union; the extent to which the full implications for this island, the UK and the European Union continue to be evaluated; whether any parameters have been established within which the feasibility of an EU without the UK has been examined in view of the contradictory positions indicated and established; if any progress has been made with a view to addressing these issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3051/17]

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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79. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the speech the British Prime Minister, Ms Theresa May gave on 17 January 2017 concerning the British government’s position on Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3048/17]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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83. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the recent statement by the British Prime Minister, Ms Theresa May, in relation to her Government's Brexit strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3045/17]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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The question seeks to ascertain the extent to which all the relevant parties in the European Union and the United Kingdom are fully conscious of the implications and the possible consequences of a UK exit from the European Union.

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 51, 54, 79 and 83 together.

The UK Prime Minister, Mrs. May, provided some further clarity in her address of 17 January on the objectives on the part of the UK for the negotiations on its withdrawal from the European Union and its future relationship with the EU. It was not the clarity we would have wished for. We regret the fact that the British Government has chosen to leave both the Single Market and the customs union. Anyway, clear sight of the British Government's intentions at least allows us to focus our preparations on realistic scenarios for the future.

What matters most is where the negotiations end rather than from where we start. Ireland will work to ensure that the negotiations are conducted in a constructive and orderly way. We will encourage the British Government and our EU partners to do so as well.

We enter this next phase with four clear objectives: first, to minimise the impact on our economy; second, to protect the Good Friday Agreement; third, to maintain the common travel area; and fourth, to ensure the integrity and unity of a renewed European Union.

Prime Minister May has made clear that she wishes to have the closest possible economic relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union. I welcome that. She has made clear that the United Kingdom will wish to maintain the common travel area and avoid a return to a hard Border between the two parts of the island. I welcome that too. I also welcome the high priority that the European Commission lead negotiator, Michel Barnier, gives to this issue and to the wider question of maintaining the Good Friday Agreement.

The recognition of the importance of the Good Friday Agreement and the common travel area by the United Kingdom and our EU partners is the result of painstaking work by the Taoiseach, other Ministers and Irish officials, including those in our embassies throughout the European Union. I have previously set out in some detail the scale of the diplomatic engagement that has brought us to this point, including the discussions at political or senior official level with our EU partners, numbering over 60 in total.

As yet, we are only in the early stages of a cross-government and diplomatic engagement unlike anything we have seen in our recent history in terms of scale and complexity. Ireland is one of the few EU members to maintain resident diplomatic relations with all EU member states. That network will be deployed intensively in support of our efforts. In light of the clarity offered by the UK Prime Minister, Mrs. May, this work now enters a new and important phase.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Is there recognition of the possible economic and political implications thereafter - in the widest sense - given that some people seem to celebrate the prospect?

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I have held discussions with each of my 26 EU foreign ministerial colleagues. Indeed, I can add Foreign Secretary Johnson to that list since I have met him on a number of occasions. I have been impressing on them the importance of the trading relationship between Ireland and the UK and the importance of maintaining the common travel area. As the Deputy will be aware, we have enjoyed the common travel area with the United Kingdom since the early 1920s. I have also impressed on them the important role played by the European Union in our peace process. I have been engaging at that level. I wish to recognise the important role played by the Taoiseach as a member of the European Council. He has engaged with his colleagues at EU Head of Government level. We are fully prepared for what is a difficult and challenging encounter. We trust the negotiations will commence on target in late March. We are ready to make our case in the strongest possible way.

In recent days I spoke with all EU ambassadors in Dublin. In Brussels last week I spoke with the Spanish foreign minister because there had been a change in personnel there. I have made preparations for a visit to Helsinki as part of an ongoing process to deepen engagement, especially with our like-minded colleagues within the European Union.