Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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56. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide a report on his recent meeting in Dublin with the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Philip Hammond. [1647/17]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I met with Chancellor Philip Hammond during his recent visit to Dublin on 9th January last. I was glad to have the opportunity to continue our bilateral discussions, following on from my meeting with him last September in London. This is, of course, in addition to our regular contacts at monthly meetings of EU Finance Ministers at ECOFIN.

Chancellor Hammond and I engaged constructively on the very strong relationship between Ireland and the U.K, the importance of trade between the two economies, and on the many areas of common interest shared by our two countries. I reiterated that the Irish Government's headline priorities concerning Brexit remain the economy, Northern Ireland, the Common Travel Area and the future of the EU itself.

In line with the agreement at EU level, there have been and will be no negotiations with the UK until Article 50 has been triggered.  Chancellor Hammond is aware that Ireland remains a committed EU Member State and will be part of the EU 27 team both for the preparations and for the forthcoming negotiations. We want negotiations to be constructive and believe that a close and positive future relationship between the UK and the EU post-departure is of benefit to us all. Chancellor Hammond also confirmed that the unique relationship between Ireland and the UK has never been more important or as complex and that Prime Minister May has made clear that she is personally committed to building on the strengths of this relationship. Trade between our two countries benefits each nation enormously and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, so it is in everyone's interest to build upon our strong ties.

I underlined that it is important for the British Government to set out its Brexit negotiation objectives as soon as possible. This will contribute to ensuring that the forthcoming negotiations are conducted in an organised and constructive way, leading to an orderly withdrawal of the UK from the EU.

I look forward to continuing my discussions with Chancellor Hammond in the context of our Government's ongoing preparations for Brexit.