Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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320. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs 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. [2513/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I have had no bilateral meetings of the type described by the Deputy. However, I have participated in a number of fora where the issue of Brexit and its challenges were discussed. I have met with my Northern Ireland counterpart in the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) Health and Food Safety Sector meeting in Armagh on 9 November 2016 and also at the NSMC Plenary meetings in Dublin Castle on 4 July 2016 and in Armagh on 18 November 2016. The implications of Brexit were discussed at each meeting and will be part of the ongoing dialogue within the NSMC at Sectoral and Plenary level. I also attended, along with the Taoiseach, the British Irish Council Summit in Cardiff on 25 November 2016 at which the impact of Brexit was again considered by Ministers with a range of responsibilities, details of which are already in the public domain.

Furthermore, as a follow-up to the All Island Civic Dialogue in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham on 2 November 2016, I am hosting a sectoral dialogue on 30 January 2017 in Croke Park. The aim of this event is to have a focused and practical discussion of the key implications of Brexit on the lives of children and young people on the island of Ireland.