John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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329. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the detail of the response of the President of the European Commission for Ireland to retain its existing relationship with Britain. [5336/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The Government’s preparations for the upcoming negotiations on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU have been extensive. From the outset of our preparations we have been clear about our priorities, which remain: minimising the impact on trade and the economy; protecting the Good Friday Agreement; maintaining the Common Travel Area; and working together with our partners to support the effective functioning of the European Union. Of course, Ireland's relationship with the UK will inevitably change as a result of its departure and our objective is to minimise these potential negative impacts. It has consistently been this Government’s position that we wish to see a strong and positive future relationship between the UK and the rest of the EU, including Ireland.

The Government shares the UK’s objective of maintaining the Common Travel Area as it now stands. We also welcome the UK’s objective of achieving as close and as frictionless a trade relationship as possible with the EU after it departs.

In our meetings with other Governments at Head of State or Government or Foreign Minister level, as well as with Commission President Juncker and European Council President Tusk, the Taoiseach and I have ensured that they have a strong and sympathetic understanding of the unique historic, social, political and economic relationship between these two islands, above all as regards our shared responsibility for Northern Ireland. There is general support for addressing and resolving these issues.

It is also extremely positive that both Michel Barnier, chief Brexit negotiator for the Commission, and Guy Verhofstadt, lead for the European Parliament on Brexit, have highlighted the need to address Ireland’s specific concerns as a priority in the upcoming negotiations.

We will continue to build on this excellent start throughout the negotiations. Of course, much will depend on the final outcome of the wider EU-UK negotiations.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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330. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if discussions have taken place with the British administration regarding the status of Irish citizens living in the UK post-Brexit. [5342/17]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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345. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if any correspondence regarding the status of Irish citizens living in the UK post-Brexit has been received, requested or is taking place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5871/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 330 and 345 together.

It is the firm objective of the Government that Irish citizens will be able to continue to live and work freely in the United Kingdom following the UK’s exit from the EU. Since the referendum in June, my Ministerial colleagues and I have discussed the status of Irish citizens on numerous occasions with our UK counterparts. Most recently, my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, visited London last week and met with the UK Secretary of State for Work and Pensions as well as with Irish community groups.

A key factor in achieving this objective will be the continuation of the Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangements between Ireland and the UK. At their meeting in Dublin last week, at which I participated, the Taoiseach and Prime Minister May reaffirmed their joint commitment to maintaining the CTA and to continuing the two Governments’ work in this regard.

For her part, Prime Minister May has listed the CTA as one of her priorities for the exit process. On 2 February the UK Government published its White Paper on Brexit, in which the special status afforded to Irish citizens in the UK in the Ireland Act 1949 was noted, as was the mutual desire of the UK and Irish Governments to protect the reciprocal treatment of each other’s citizens.

In the particular case of the CTA, and as with other specific-Irish related issues, it is clearly important that we secure the understanding and support of the EU institutions and Member States regarding this long-standing and important bilateral arrangement. Accordingly, the Government continues to engage very actively at both the political and official/diplomatic levels in setting out our key priorities to various EU interlocutors. As part of this work, I had a very positive meeting yesterday with my new Italian colleague, Foreign Minister Alfano, and will be visiting both Brussels and Helsinki later this week.

It is important and welcome that Ireland’s concerns have been explicitly and publicly recognised by the chief negotiators of both the Commission and the European Parliament, Michel Barnier and Guy Verhofstadt respectively.

Therefore, while formal negotiations have not yet begun, and as we await the triggering of the Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union by the United Kingdom, important groundwork has been done with both the UK government and with our EU partners.

In tandem with these efforts, the Government, my Department, and our diplomatic missions in the UK will continue their close contact with the Irish community as the exit process continues. Since before the referendum, the Government has been engaging closely with the Irish community about practical issues which might arise from the UK’s decision to leave the EU. On 19 and 20 January Minister of State McHugh visited London where he had a series of engagements with representatives and members of the Irish community there, and I will also meet with them during my next visit. The Irish Embassy in London and our Consulate in Edinburgh continue to provide support to the Irish community in a variety of ways, including through the Government’s Emigrant Support Programme.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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331. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if English will continue to be one of the working languages of the European institutions post-Brexit. [5343/17]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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335. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if English will remain an official language of the European Union after Brexit; and the discussions taking place in this regard. [5865/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 331 and 335 together.

The status of the English language as an official and working language of the EU institutions will not be altered as a result of the UK leaving the EU. Article 342 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union provides that the rules governing the languages of the EU institutions shall be determined by the Council, acting unanimously by means of regulations. Regulation No. 1 of 1958, as amended over the years, is the relevant Regulation in this regard. A unanimous decision of the Council is required to add a new language to the list contained in the Regulation, or to remove a language from the list.