Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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327. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the way in which his Department is preparing in advance of Article 50 being triggered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2551/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union provides the legal framework for withdrawal by a Member State. The British Prime Minister has said that she intends to trigger Article 50 no later than the end of March this year. An agreement between the EU and the UK on British withdrawal has to be concluded within two years. Of course, separate negotiations on a future UK-EU relationship will also need to take place. The greater clarity provided in the speech on 17 January by the British Prime Minister is welcome, as is her stated objective that once outside the EU, the UK wants to have a positive and constructive relationship with the EU, an objective we very much share. The Government is very clear on Irish priorities: to protect our economic interests; to protect the Good Friday Agreement; to maintain the Common Travel Area with the UK; to ensure an invisible border; and to maintain the integrity and unity of the EU, which is itself a core national interest.

Now that we have further detail on the type of future relationship with the EU that the UK will seek and as we approach the start of the Article 50 negotiations, the Government’s detailed preparatory work, which began over two years ago and has steadily intensified since then, will increasingly focus on the negotiations themselves, as well as on the analysis of the impacts of Brexit.

Given the cross-cutting nature of the EU-UK dossier, a number of Divisions within my Department are devoting a considerable share of their resources to the key issues. They include the EU Division, which has a dedicated EU-UK Unit; the Ireland, United Kingdom and Americas Division; the Legal Division; and the Trade Division. The overall Departmental effort is led and coordinated by the Secretary General and by the Department’s Management Board, a sub-committee of which meets each week.

With respect to the Article 50 negotiations, EU Division – re-established in the Department further to a Government decision in July of last year – is leading on preparations, within the framework of the whole-of-government approach to Brexit, which is led by the Department of the Taoiseach.

There is daily contact with the Department of the Taoiseach and there is also close engagement with other Government Departments, many of whom have established “Brexit” teams. In addition, there is also daily contact with our Permanent Representation in Brussels and regular interaction with our Embassies in all twenty-seven other EU Member States. Our Embassies are in constant touch with the authorities in their countries of accreditation. We also ensure that our missions world-wide are properly briefed on developments. In addition, there is an intensive ongoing programme of detailed discussions with colleagues in other Member States and in the EU institutions, whether in Dublin, Brussels or in other capitals.

Ireland will be part of the EU team of 27 Member States in the negotiations process, so therefore sensitizing EU partners and the EU institutions to Ireland’s particular and unique circumstances is very important. It is of course also essential to understand the objectives and concerns of others.

This work is led by the Taoiseach who engages regularly with other EU leaders, as I have done and continue to do with all twenty-seven of my Foreign Minister counterparts and as Minister of State Murphy is doing with his opposite numbers.

Engagement with EU embassies in Dublin is also very important: to that end I will meet with EU Ambassadors on 20 January to share the Government views on Brexit and to set out our preparations for the Article 50 negotiations.

As we move toward the negotiation phase, I remain confident that, given the extensive work which has been undertaken to date, Ireland will be prepared and ready to protect and defend the best interests of Ireland and Irish citizens.