Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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189. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to meet formally with his UK counterpart in the context of the impact of Brexit on education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8351/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Consultation has been fundamental to my Department’s preparations for Brexit. I have attached particular importance to engagement at political and institutional level on our Brexit agenda. Last year I met my former UK counterpart, Justine Greening MP and I look forward to an occasion in the near future to meet her successor, the recently appointed Secretary of State for Education, Damian Hinds MP to continue our bilateral engagement on issues of common concern, including Brexit.

I have also had meetings with the former Minister of State for Exiting the EU, David Jones MP, the UK’s Opposition Spokesperson on Brexit, Keir Starmer MP, as well as members of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Irish in Britain.

I attended the Education Council in Brussels last week and participated in policy debates, one of which will address the European Council conclusion from December on the proposed European Education Area. At this event I met with the head of the UK government delegation Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State for School Standards, and took the opportunity to raise Brexit issues with him and to contribute positively to the debate on how Europe can remain at the forefront of excellence in education and research.

Officials in my Department continue to work closely with their counterparts in the Department for Education, London on a range of issues including establishing a shared understanding between Ireland and the United Kingdom of the rights to access education in each other’s jurisdictions which are facilitated and supported by the Common Travel Area (CTA) and associated rights arrangements.