Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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112. To ask the Taoiseach if the fact that the Government would not be bringing forward proposals on a border on the island of Ireland was mentioned when he met Prime Minister May in June 2017 or when he spoke to her in subsequent phone calls. [39091/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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As I have already reported to the House, in my June meeting with Prime Minister May, we reaffirmed our two Governments’ commitment to maintaining the Common Travel Area and associated reciprocal rights, to protecting the Peace Process and, in particular, to keeping the border invisible.

But we also recognise that this will be extremely challenging and, in the words of the EU negotiation guidelines, will require “flexible and imaginative” solutions. This Government will certainly play its part in working constructively with all our partners – in Northern Ireland, in Britain and across the EU – to find solutions that are in the best interests of everyone on these islands.

In August, the UK Government published position papers on Future Customs Arrangements and Northern Ireland and Ireland as part of the Brexit negotiation process. The Government has welcomed these publications as providing some clarity from the British Government on its approach to the negotiations, and as reflecting the emphasis on the priority areas identified by the Government, including the Common Travel Area, the Good Friday Agreement, North/South cooperation and avoiding a hard border.

The Government has also underlined that protecting the Peace Process is crucial and must not become a bargaining chip in the negotiations and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade has made clear that far greater clarity will be required from the UK on the critical issue of avoiding any return to a hard border while respecting the integrity of the Single Market and the Customs Union.

As stated in the European Commission Task Force's paper on Guiding Principles for Ireland / Northern Ireland the onus to propose solutions which overcome the challenges created on the island of Ireland by the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union and its decision to leave the customs union and the internal market remains on the United Kingdom.