Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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316. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the bilateral meetings she had with her European counterparts, outside of Council of the EU meetings, since the UK referendum to leave the EU took place at which the issue of Brexit and the unique challenges faced by the island of Ireland was discussed, including the name of each European ministerial counterpart and the location and date of each meeting, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2521/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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An extensive programme of engagement with all other EU Governments and the EU institutions, including the Commission’s Brexit Negotiations Task Force, is under way.  This engagement is being intensified in 2017.

Since the UK referendum to leave the EU took place, I have met with a number of my European counterparts.

In September I travelled to Brussels, where I had a series of meetings with the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Elzbieta Bienkowska and the Commissioner for Trade, Cecelia Malmstrom and also Vicky Ford MEP, Chair of the Internal Market Committee of the European Parliament.

In November, I met Lord Price, Minister of State at the Department for International Trade in Dublin.

In the same month I travelled to London where I met with the then Minister of State for Energy and Intellectual Property, Baroness Neville-Rolfe, the Secretary of State for Business, Greg Clark, and Secretary of State for International Trade, Liam Fox, to ensure that the importance of the unique circumstances for Ireland is fully understood at Cabinet level in the UK.

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. I used these meetings, and will continue to use other opportunities when meeting EU colleagues from other Member States, to convey the unique impact of Brexit on Ireland, at the earliest stage in advance of the commencement of the detailed exit negotiations.

The Taoiseach and my Ministerial colleagues will continue to meet and engage with our EU counterparts over coming weeks to emphasise Ireland’s concerns and to ensure that they are fully reflected in the EU position once negotiations commence.

This activity is reinforced by extensive engagement at diplomatic and official level.  The Government is acutely aware of the potential risks and challenges for the Irish economy and will remain fully engaged on this aspect as the negotiations proceed.  An important part of our preparations for the Brexit negotiations is ensuring that our particular concerns are heard and understood across Europe, and engagement with our EU partners and with the EU institutions is therefore critical.

Of course, Ireland will be part of the EU27 team and looks forward to working with our fellow Member States in delivering the best possible result for Ireland and for the EU.