Written answers

Wednesday, 12 July 2017

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Brexit Issues

Photo of Stephen DonnellyStephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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193. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to his comments on designated special status for Northern Ireland in the context of Brexit, if this special status includes maintaining ongoing sectoral linkages on a sector by sector basis (details supplied) wherein it is practicable. [30850/17]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Protecting the Northern Ireland peace process is one of the Government’s priorities in the Brexit negotiations. The Government’s focus in relation to Northern Ireland is the substantive outcome to the key issues. The Government’s objectives in the withdrawal negotiations are well-known: to secure the avoidance of a hard border, respect for the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement, continued EU engagement in Northern Ireland and the protection of the unique status of Irish citizens in Northern Ireland.

As a result of intensive political and diplomatic engagement by the Government, our EU partners and the EU institutions are fully aware and supportive of the importance of respecting the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts and protecting the gains of the peace process. The European Council’s guidelines for the EU-UK negotiations include a strong acknowledgment of the unique circumstances of the island of Ireland and explicitly recognize the importance of preserving the achievements, benefits and commitments of the Good Friday Agreement. These guidelines are fully reflected in the negotiating directives adopted by the General Affairs Council on 22 May.

The inclusion of the specific references to Ireland’s key priorities in the EU negotiating guidelines highlights their acceptance by our EU partners as shared priorities for the European Union in the negotiation process with the UK. The Government is under no illusions about the challenge and complexity of these negotiations and is engaged in detailed and ongoing planning in order to prepare for them.

North/South cooperation is ever more crucial in the context of Brexit and work in this area will continue. The North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) has had a strong Brexit focus in the past year in working to identify impacts, opportunities and contingencies for the island, arising from the UK’s departure from the EU. In November 2016, the NSMC agreed to a number of common principles to guide future work on Brexit. I look forward to this work continuing in greater depth and detail once agreement is reached to form a new Northern Ireland Executive.

The All-Island Civic Dialogue on Brexit is a critical part of the Government’s engagement with sectors which will be impacted by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Over 1,200 delegates have participated in two plenary sessions and numerous sectoral dialogues, facilitating a wide conversation on the implications of Brexit for the island, North and South. Through this process the Government has heard and taken on board a broad range of concerns which have informed the Government’s approach to the Brexit negotiations. This has been a very valuable initiative and is continuing.

The Government will maintain its focus on the pursuit of specific, effective and realizable measures that address each of the issues of concern under Brexit to ensure that the gains of the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement are not in any way undermined by the UK’s exit from the EU and to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.

Photo of Stephen DonnellyStephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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194. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views of the citizenship proposals put forward by Prime Minister May in a policy paper (details supplied). [32101/17]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Safeguarding the rights and entitlements of EU citizens resident in the UK as well as UK citizens resident in the EU has been identified as a key priority by both the European Union and the UK within the context of the Article 50 negotiations on the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. As set out in the comprehensive document published on 2 May entitled Ireland and the negotiations on the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, the Government believes that an agreement on the rights of citizens should be wide, ambitious and comprehensive. I am satisfied that the Guidelines for the negotiations adopted by the European Council (Art. 50) on 29 April and the more detailed negotiating directives agreed by the General Affairs Council (Art. 50) on 22 May fully reflect Ireland’s approach in this regard. The EU’s position has been formally conveyed to the UK by way of a position paper, which was published on 12 June and presented in detail to the UK side during the first round of negotiations on 19 June. It is positive that the UK Government has now published its approach to the issue in a paper entitled Safeguarding the position of EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU.

Ireland, along with its EU27 partners, is currently studying the detail of the UK paper, which will be discussed between the EU and the UK as part of the work stream on citizens’ rights under the Article 50 process. The next round of negotiations is scheduled to take place on 17 July. While clearly there are differences between the two sides’ proposals, I am hopeful that progress can be made as quickly as possible so that certainty can be provided early in the withdrawal process on this issue, which impacts directly upon the lives and livelihoods of over 4 million people.

In addition to working with our EU27 partners in advocating an ambitious agreement on citizens’ rights, the Government is continuing to work closely with the European Commission Taskforce and the UK with a view to maintaining the Common Travel Area, which provides reciprocal rights for Irish people living and working in the UK and British citizens living in Ireland.

The importance of the continuation of bilateral arrangements and agreements between Ireland and the UK, including the CTA, has been recognised by the EU in the European Council Guidelines of 29 April and the negotiating directives of 22 May and this has been further reflected in the EU’s position paper on citizens’ rights. Similarly, the UK has noted that its proposals on citizens’ rights are without prejudice to the Common Travel Area.

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