Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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119. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is satisfied that legislation being enacted at present or proposed by the British Government in relation to its decision to exit the EU will not impact on aspects of the Good Friday Agreement. [52940/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Government is determined to ensure that the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts is fully protected and respected in the context of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and this has been a headline priority since the UK referendum result. As co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, the Government has a solemn responsibility to protect the Agreement in all its parts and the gains of the Peace Process which have been of immeasurable benefit to the entire island, north and south.

Upholding the Good Friday Agreement is also an objective shared by the British Government. Last Friday, we received firm commitments in the joint report of the negotiators of the EU and UK Government. These commitments include the maintenance of the Common Travel Area, protection of EU citizenship and other rights, and the protection of the Good Friday Agreement in all of its parts including in relation to North South co-operation and the principle of consent.

This agreement not only provides a guarantee that there will be no hard border in any circumstances, it spells out for the first time how this will be achieved. In the event that it is not possible to resolve the border issue as part of a wider EU-UK future relationship agreement, which has always been the Irish Government’s preference, or through specific solutions, paragraph 49 of the report states that, “in the absence of agreed solutions, the United Kingdom will maintain full alignment with those rules of the Internal Market and the Customs Union which, now or in the future, support North-South cooperation, the all-island economy and the protection of the 1998 agreement.” It has also been agreed that any agreements put in place will be accompanied by effective mechanisms to ensure implementation and oversight.

The upholding of the Good Friday Agreement is also an objective shared by the British Government. Last Friday, we received firm commitments in the joint report of the negotiators of the EU and UK Government. These commitments include the maintenance of the Common Travel Area, protection of EU citizenship and other rights for Irish citizens from Northern Ireland, and the protection of the Good Friday Agreement in all of its parts including in relation to North South co-operation and the principle of consent.

The British Government has proposed a number of pieces of draft legislation relating to the UK’s Withdrawal from the European Union, which are being considered at Westminster. While this is a matter for the UK Parliament, my Department, including through the Embassy in London, is actively following the progress of these bills at Westminster.