Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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34. To ask the Taoiseach if he has met members of the McConville family; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20865/14]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I met representatives of the Disappeared, including members of the McConville family in July last year. I had a request last November from another member of the family looking to meet with me. Officials of my Department offered to meet with him to discuss his concerns but to date no response has been received.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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35. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the discussions he had with British Prime Minister David Cameron following the arrest by the PSNI of this deputy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22139/14]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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36. To ask the Taoiseach the contact he or his Department officials had with the British Government following the arrest by the PSNI of this deputy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22140/14]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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37. To ask the Taoiseach when he was informed by the British Government of the arrest by the PSNI of this deputy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22141/14]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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38. To ask the Taoiseach if he raised with the British Prime Minister David Cameron the need for a new round of negotiations to deal with outstanding issues arising from the Good Friday Agreement. [24132/14]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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39. To ask the Taoiseach the number of conversations by phone and meetings he has held with the British Prime Minister David Cameron since Easter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24133/14]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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40. To ask the Taoiseach if he raised with the British Prime Minister David Cameron the need for his Government to endorse the Haass proposals. [24134/14]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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41. To ask the Taoiseach if he raised with the British Prime Minister David Cameron the approach of the British Government to the issue of the past and of legacy matters. [24135/14]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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42. To ask the Taoiseach if he has had any conversations or contact with the First and Deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland since the Unionist parties walked out of the all-party talks on 3 July. [30739/14]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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43. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on any discussions/contacts his Department has had with the British Government since the Unionist parties walked out of the all-party talks on 3 July [30740/14]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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44. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his conversation with the British Prime Minister David Cameron on 6 July regarding the deteriorating situation in Northern Ireland. [30742/14]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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45. To ask the Taoiseach if he raised with Mr. Cameron the need for both Governments to implement outstanding elements of the Good Friday Agreement that are the responsibility of the Irish and British Governments. [30743/14]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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46. To ask the Taoiseach if he raised with Mr. Cameron the outstanding issues arising from the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements, including the Bill of Rights, Acht na Gaeilge, the Civic Forum and the inquiry into the killing of human rights lawyer Pat Finucane. [30744/14]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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47. To ask the Taoiseach if he raised with David Cameron the need for an independent inquiry into the Ballymurphy massacre case. [30745/14]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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48. To ask the Taoiseach if he raised with Mr. Cameron the need for both Governments to support the decisions of the Parades Commission and the policing of these by the PSNI. [30746/14]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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108. To ask the Taoiseach if he has met the leader of the SDLP regarding his concerns in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30669/14]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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109. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his telephone conversation with Prime Minister Cameron regarding the Parades Commission decision on the Crumlin Road parade; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30671/14]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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110. To ask the Taoiseach if he has had discussions with the First Minister and or Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland regarding the increased tensions in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30674/14]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 35 to 48, inclusive, and 108 to 110, inclusive, together.

I spoke briefly with Prime Minister Cameron en marge at the recent Brussels EU summit meeting and again by telephone on Sunday 6th July. The focus of our most recent discussions has been on the escalation of the situation in Northern Ireland following the Parades Commission determination regarding the Ardoyne parade. We both agreed on the need for calm, restraint, respect for the rule of the law and a resumption of dialogue.

The Prime Minister and I both want to see the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement working and delivering positive outcomes for the people of Northern Ireland. We maintain very close contact and this will continue in the period ahead. Senior officials from my Department visited London yesterday to engage with their UK counterparts.

My Department was informed by the Cabinet Office of the arrest of Deputy Adams at 9pm on the evening of the arrest.

I also spoke to the Prime Minister by telephone over the weekend following the arrest of Deputy Adams. We agreed that due process should be allowed to take place and that concern over any aspect of the case was a matter for the Policing Board of Northern Ireland and the Office of the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland. We took the opportunity during that conversation to reaffirm our commitment to the full implementation of the Good Friday and St Andrew’s agreements.

I have not had the opportunity recently to discuss with Prime Minister Cameron specific legacy related cases such as Ballymurphy and Pat Finucane.

I spoke by telephone with the Northern Ireland Minister for Justice and Alliance Party leader David Ford last week. I also held meetings with the leadership of the SDLP and Sinn Féin in Government Buildings, to hear their assessment of the current situation. On each occasion I repeated my message, urging them to use their influence to ensure that any protests are peaceful and that a resumption of dialogue can take place as soon as possible.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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50. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent visit to California; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26567/14]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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51. To ask the Taoiseach the discussions he had with Governor Jerry Brown; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26568/14]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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52. To ask the Taoiseach the organisations, businesses and agencies he met during his visit to California. [26569/14]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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53. To ask the Taoiseach if he had meetings with any of the emigrant Irish groups in California during his recent visit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26570/14]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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54. To ask the Taoiseach if he had any conversations on the issue of the undocumented Irish during his recent visit to California. [26571/14]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 50 to 54, inclusive, together.

I travelled to the United States on Wednesday, 4th June, for a three-day programme in San Francisco and the Silicon Valley area of San Francisco. The aim of my visit was to help cement and reinforce existing investor relationships, as well as build new connections, with a view to securing new jobs and investment for Ireland, and supporting exporting Irish firms and entrepreneurs. Throughout the visit, I emphasised the progress we have made towards economic recovery and highlighted Ireland’s strengths as a location for investment and high-potential start-ups and ambitious entrepreneurs.

I visited the headquarters of a number of companies, including some of the most significant multi-national companies located in Ireland who, between them, employ close to 16,000 people here. The companies I visited included: Apple, Hewlett Packard, eBay, LinkedIn, Facebook, Tesla Motors, Google, CISCO, Yelp, Workday, New Relic, PCH International, and AirBnB. I also met representatives from Boeing, Cubic Telecom and Voxpro.

During my visit, I also opened the Enterprise Ireland Access Silicon Valley event, and met with the representatives of companies participating in the programme. This programme assists Irish companies in breaking into the US market and partnering with US firms. I had the opportunity to meet exporting Irish companies who have recently secured significant contracts with US partners located in California.

I also addressed an event organised by IDA Ireland for its client companies and prospective investors in Ireland. My programme also included a meeting with representatives of the Global Irish Network based in the West Coast area. Ambassador Anderson and Consul General Grant jointly hosted an event at the United Irish Cultural Center in San Francisco, where I met members of the Irish community and local GAA clubs. I had a brief opportunity to meet the Mayor of San Francisco, Mr. Ed Lee, in the margins of this event.

I also met with the Governor of California, Jerry Brown, during my visit. Our discussions focused on strengthening the strong economic, trade, investment and tourism links between Ireland and California. Naturally, I raised the issue of undocumented Irish immigrants and the prospect of immigration reform in the US in this discussion.

Governor Brown is a strong champion of immigration reform and has introduced a number of progressive legislative Bills at State level in California aimed at improving conditions for the undocumented in California.

Since my own U.S. visit and that by then Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore to Washington D.C. to engage with key political and community leaders on the issue, political controversy has arisen in the U.S. Congress in relation to unaccompanied migrant children from Central America  who are seeking to enter the United States via its southern border. This has impacted negatively on the prospects for wider immigration reform legislation being achieved over the period ahead. On June 30, President Obama announced that he intends to address certain immediate immigration-related matters via his executive powers within existing U.S. law.

I must stress that this issue remains a very important focus for this Government. The extent and nature of any action that the U.S. Administration will be ready to take remains to be seen.  The legal terrain involved is highly complex and there is clearly no guarantee as to the outcome that can be achieved for Ireland’s interests. 

We are continuing to press our case at all levels through Ambassador Anderson and her Embassy team in Washington D.C. and the Irish American community groups with whom they are working closely.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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58. To ask the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the recent meeting of the British Irish Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29233/14]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I attended the 22nd British-Irish Council (BIC) Summit hosted by Chief Minister, Jonathon Le Tocq, in Guernsey on 13 June 2014. The Council discussed the current economic situation in Member Administrations. It also discussed the various initiatives that are in place to stimulate the economy.

The Council reviewed the latest youth employment statistics, welcomed the recent encouraging trends and acknowledged the value that focussed discussion on the economy had on the overall work of the BIC.

The Council had a detailed discussion on the economic importance of transport links focussing on how the promotion of effective transport links between Member Administrations can be beneficial to their economic development.

The Council also received an update of the work that had taken place across each of the twelve work sectors since the last Summit in November 2013. In particular the Council welcomed the paper produced by the Collaborative Spatial Planning Work Sector setting out the various positions of Member Administrations