Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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61. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his key principles with respect to Brexit negotiations. [16488/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Last week saw the formal start of the UK’s exit from the EU. I welcome the clarity that the UK Prime Minister's announcement brought. Adopting a proactive approach from the start, the Irish Government has been comprehensively preparing for this very eventuality. The contingency framework that the Government put in place maps the key issues that will be most important to Ireland in the coming weeks and months. My own Department contributed fully to the preparation of the education components of that framework. While negotiations on the UK/EU relationship post-Brexit have not yet begun the results of our overall analysis, consultations and planning now enable us to move confidently to that next phase.

It is my priority to continue to engage actively on a number of fronts in dealing with the impact of Brexit on the Education sector. Consultation has been fundamental to my Department’s preparations for Brexit. We have consulted extensively with our stakeholders. Between December and January both I and Minister of State Halligan have led consultations with stakeholders from right across the higher education, further education and training; and primary and post-primary education sectors.

Among the key issues identified in these consultations are Brexit's likely impact on the future of the Common Travel Area and its implications for students, teachers, academic staff and researchers, mutual recognition of qualifications, UK/Ireland research collaboration and partnerships between education institutions and enterprise as well as the implications for EU funding for research and the impact on EU funding programmes such as Horizon2020, PEACE IV and Erasmus+.

All of these issues will be factored in to my Department’s overall approach to future discussions and negotiations and to our input to Government's preparations for EU-UK negotiations. Both I and my Department will continue to consult with the sector interests as necessary through the period ahead.

Engagement at political and institutional level has been another key part of my approach. I have met my counterparts Peter Weir and Simon Hamilton of the NI Executive, and most recently I met with the UK’s Secretary of State for Education, Justine Greening. I have also recently held meetings with the Minister of State for Exiting the EU, David Jones, the UK’s Opposition Spokesperson on Brexit, Keir Starmer, as well as members of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Irish in Britain. I have also had meetings with Ministers from other EU Member States and with representatives of the EU Commission.

 I look forward to building on this engagement over the coming months in order to ensure that our priorities are to the fore, are fully understood and taken into account.