Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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148. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has spoken or written directly to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland requesting him to withdraw the statement on British jurisdiction over Lough Foyle; if so, if there has been a response; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36746/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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As I have reaffirmed in recent days, Ireland has never accepted the long standing British position in relation to Lough Foyle. Within the British government, primary responsibility for this issue lies with the Foreign Secretary. Since 2011, there have been ongoing discussions on the matter between officials of my Department and the FCO. While I have not to date discussed the matter with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, my officials have raised it with their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Office.

Uncertainty concerning the extent to which each Government exercises jurisdiction within Lough Foyle has created practical difficulties for the conduct of a number of activities there. This has included difficulty in creating a system for licencing of aquaculture by the Loughs Agency in accordance with the intentions of the two Governments under the 1999 agreement establishing the North/South implementation bodies. I want to see the Loughs Agency working to its full potential which is in the interests of everyone on this island.

Following discussions in 2011 between the then Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and the British Foreign Secretary, both Governments agreed to seek to address and resolve jurisdictional issues relating to both Lough Foyle and Carlingford Lough.

Since that time a series of meetings have taken place at official level between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The issues involved are complex and involve a range of different actors, including the Crown Estates. These discussions are continuing and the next meeting is scheduled for early next month. The Irish Government remains committed to reaching a successful conclusion to these talks.