Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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495. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the position regarding the Stormont talks to restore power sharing in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38086/17]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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539. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his visit to Stormont on 5 September 2017; the meetings he attended; the issues that were discussed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38952/17]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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541. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide an update on the most recent attempts to reinstate the Northern Ireland Assembly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38954/17]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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543. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade when formal talks will resume on reinstating the Northern Ireland Assembly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38956/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 495, 504, 539, 541 and 543 together.

The Government is determined, as a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, to do everything that we can to see all of its institutions operating effectively, including the devolved Assembly and power-sharing Executive in Northern Ireland.

I met with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in Dublin on 22 August to discuss the best way forward for the Irish and British Governments to support the formation of a new Executive in the period ahead. I remain in regular contact with Secretary of State Brokenshire, to identify where and how we can continue to support and encourage the parties in achieving that essential objective.

In the first instance, it is the parties who have the enabling electoral mandates that need to reach the necessary agreement to form a new Executive. I visited Belfast on 5 September to discuss with each of the political parties the prospects and the process for achieving that. I was encouraged that all of the parties want to see devolution working and they are all agreed that locally accountable power-sharing government is in the best interests of Northern Ireland. The parties have also had various bilateral contacts and this continued engagement is important to acknowledge.

In this regard, I welcome the statements made on 6 September by the DUP leader, Arlene Foster, and by Sinn Féin’s leader in the Assembly, Michelle O’Neill, referring to the recent intensified engagement between both parties and their intention to continue their discussions and with the other parties, with a view to reaching an agreement on a new Executive.

I believe that all parties are conscious that time cannot be unlimited in seeking this outcome and that Northern Ireland has been without an Executive for several months, including the period when the Article 50 negotiations between the EU and the UK are focussed on the unique issues relating to the island of Ireland.

There remain challenges and differences between the parties on specific issues, but I do not believe that these are insurmountable. I will continue to work with the Secretary of State and each of the political parties in Northern Ireland to support an agreement on the formation of a new power-sharing Executive for Northern Ireland within the mandate of the current Assembly.