Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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160. To ask the Taoiseach if he met with Mr. Donald Tusk when he attended the October 2018 EU Council meeting. [43491/18]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I meet and speak regularly with my EU counterparts, bilaterally, and at formal and informal meetings of the European Council.

I had a bilateral meeting with the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, in Brussels on 4 October. We discussed progress in the Brexit negotiations and other issues on the EU agenda in advance of the October European Council.

President Tusk re-iterated his ongoing solidarity for Ireland in ensuring that a robust and legally watertight version of the backstop is agreed as part of the Withdrawal Agreement with the UK.

I had further engagement with him in the margins of the October European Council, although I did not have a formal meeting with him on that occasion.

Ongoing political engagement with our partners remains crucial, regarding to Brexit and other important EU issues. I will continue to engage closely with our EU partners, including the EU institutions, in the period ahead and to use every opportunity to defend Ireland's interests.