Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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74. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the timeframe for the United States Administration to appoint a special envoy to Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14152/18]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Successive US Administrations have provided immensely valuable support to the peace process over the last three decades. This support continues to be provided by the current US Administration, as well as by our many friends in Congress. The Government strongly appreciates the sustained engagement by the current US Administration, including by the US State Department, in relation to Northern Ireland and we look forward to this continuing into the future. In this regard, the Government has indicated that we would welcome the appointment of a Special Envoy for Northern Ireland by the current Administration, as part of its continuing support for the Peace Process. We have not received a timeframe from the US Administration regarding any possible appointment of a Special Envoy.

The Taoiseach discussed the political process in Northern Ireland with President Trump during their bilateral meeting at the White House on 15 March, and also with key Congressional contacts during his recent visit to Washington, D.C.

I also discussed the matter with Administration representatives in Washington, D.C., during my visit there last month.

Continued support and engagement by the US Administration and Congress will remain an essential support to the efforts by the British and Irish Governments, as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement, to get the devolved, power-sharing institutions of the Agreement operating again as soon as possible.