Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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69. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on the recent visit of Mr. Michel Barnier here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20766/18]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The EU’s Chief Negotiator for the Article 50 negotiations, Michel Barnier, attended the All-Island Civic Dialogue in Dundalk on 30 April. Mr Barnier’s visit was yet another demonstration of the EU’s continued steadfast support for Ireland and commitment to addressing our specific concerns in the Brexit negotiations.

Mr Barnier delivered the keynote address to the All-Island Civic Dialogue and met with a range of individuals and groups in attendance. His participation over lunch in a meeting of the Brexit Stakeholder Forum, which I hosted, was particularly welcomed and useful. The Taoiseach and I also had a bilateral meeting with Mr Barnier in advance of his address to the All-Island Civic Dialogue. Our meeting offered an opportunity to take stock of the current state of play in the negotiations on both the future relationship and the draft Withdrawal Agreement, including progress on the draft Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.

There was agreement at the meeting that significantly more progress is needed on the Protocol, including the backstop on avoiding a hard border, ahead of the June meeting of the European Council. Recalling the European Council Guidelines of 23 March 2018 and the principles that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed and that negotiations can only progress as long as all commitments undertaken so far are respected in full, there was also agreement that there can be no Withdrawal Agreement without a satisfactory agreement on the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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70. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on recent meetings which he has had with his UK counterpart regarding Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20767/18]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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In November 2017, I welcomed UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Boris Johnson MP, for his first visit to Ireland since being appointed to the position. A number of areas of mutual foreign policy interest were discussed, including the Middle East and Africa, in addition to the strong British-Irish bilateral relationship and how this relationship can be strengthened in the future. Although the Foreign Secretary does not have lead responsibility for Brexit, the meeting also provided an opportunity to exchange views on the ongoing Brexit negotiations.

I routinely meet the Foreign Secretary at meetings of Foreign Ministers in an EU context, and internationally. Ireland and the United Kingdom share many areas of mutual interest and concern and we will continue to work together on areas of commonality.